2026 SMU Trade Conference

The 2026 SMU Trade Conference will take place on May 25–26, 2026, for two full days at Singapore Management University (SMU). The conference is organized by the SMU Centre for Research on International Trade, which promotes research analyzing the complex networks of firm-to-firm connections in Singapore and other Asian economies.

We invite submissions of high-quality papers in fields including, but not limited to, international trade, network economics, spatial econometrics, and labor economics. In particular, we welcome papers that examine the role of firm-to-firm input-output linkages in transmitting aggregate shocks and their implications for the firm-level productivity, labor demand, and innovation activities.

The conference programme will feature parallel academic sessions organised around the Centre’s core research themes—firm-level production networks, global value chains, labor markets, and innovation—and a policy dialogue session open to participants from the public sector and industry.

Keynote Speakers and Policy Session Panel Discussants

• Daniel Xu (Duke University)
• Felix Tintelnot (Duke University)
• Ayumu Ken Kikkawa (University of British Columbia)

Program Committee:

• Pao-Li Chang (Singapore Management University)
• Lin Ma (Singapore Management University)
• Daniel Xu (Duke University)
• Felix Tintelnot (Duke University)
• Ayumu Ken Kikkawa (University of British Columbia)

For any enquiries, please send an email to soetrade@smu.edu.sg.