Our annual training school, supported by the ESRC/UKRI, provides advanced training to enhance the understanding of current economic issues. The training school has been running since 1998 and has a reputation of providing a solid foundation for students, whilst giving them the opportunity to explore interests and network with peers.
This training school is part of the RES Professional Development offer and supports the RES strategic priorities: bringing communities of economists together and developing the next generation of economists.
The 2026 Easter Training School will take place at the University of Birmingham from Wednesday 15 April – Friday 17 April 2026. The theme for the 2026 School will be: AI and Economic Policy.
The event combines a programme of lectures from our two visiting professors. Students will also have the opportunity to present their own research in the form of a general session or as a poster (please submit a draft at the point of applying). The event also allows time for socialising and networking with the visiting professors, host academics and fellow PhD students attending.
University of Bergamo
Alessandra Bonfiglioli is a Professor of Economics at University of Bergamo since 2022 and a Research Fellow at CEPR. Previously, she was a Professor of Economics at Queen Mary University of London, where she retains a teaching appointment, and an Assistant Professor at University Pompeu Fabra. She was an Associate Editor of the Journal of the European Economic Association and she is currently serving as an Associate Editor of Economica.
Professor Bonfiglioli holds a PhD in Economics for Stockholm University – IIES, and her main research interests span the fields of International Trade, Growth and Income Distribution, Labour Economics and Political Economy. Her ongoing research addresses the interplay between automation and AI, trade, labour-market outcomes and firm-level performance.
University of Oxford
He is a research fellow of the CEPR and Director of the Research Policy Network on Central Bank Communication. He is Deputy Director of Nuffield Centre for Applied Macro Policy (NuCaMP). He is also affiliated with LSE’s Centre for Macroeconomics where he previously co-edited the CfM Survey.
His interests lie in macroeconomics of fiscal policy, business cycles, monetary economics, inventories and applied econometrics. A key feature of his recent research is the use of interdisciplinary, data science techniques to understand communication and deliberation in central banks. His research has been published in journals including the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of Monetary Economics, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of International Economics and numerous others.
The RES Easter School is intended for advanced postgraduate students doing doctoral research, (but younger lecturers and postdoctoral researchers are also welcome) and economists in research and policymaking institutions, who have approximately three to five years’ experience since initial graduation.
Applicants are invited to submit a paper/abstract/draft paper for consideration, these can be presented within a general session or via poster slots.
All Easter School participants need to be RES Members, you can join the RES either before applying or if accepted to the training school.
The RES are unable to provide financial support for travel and accommodation, although the RES Easter Training School is free to attend.
Applications are now open. Applicants will need to submit their CV and if you’d like to present your research you will need to submit a paper/poster.
Applications close on Monday 5 January 2026
Outcome emails will be sent by the end of January.
