DebtCon8: A Homecoming
October 13-15, 2025 in Washington, DC
Georgetown Law, the Institute of International Economic Law, the Sovereign Debt Forum and the Princeton Sovereign Finance Lab will host the 8th Interdisciplinary Sovereign Debt Research and Management Conference (DebtCon8), October 13-15, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Since DebtCon was launched at Georgetown in 2015, it has brought together academics and practitioners across disciplines, government officials, civil society representatives, and market participants, to inform and marshal cutting-edge research to address public debt challenges. After gathering in person in Geneva, Fiesole, Princeton, Paris, and virtually across ten host countries, DebtCon comes home to Washington, D.C for the first time since 2019. With each edition of DebtCon, we reaffirm our collective commitment to cross geographic, disciplinary, and institutional boundaries to find creative solutions to pressing problems ... and to meet again.
We will hold DebtCon8 against the backdrop of an intensifying climate crisis, geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, social, political, and financial instability, and institutional transformation. On the one hand, the long-predicted 1980s-style widespread sovereign debt crisis has not materialized. On the other hand, countries across the national income spectrum are managing chronic debt, growth and development challenges that threaten to spread across national borders, set back countries’ economic prospects, and limit their capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
As always, DebtCon8 will include high-level roundtables and keynotes, with research presentations in parallel sessions. Past meetings have shown that valuable insights emerge from joining academic, market, policy, and advocacy perspectives on sovereign debt, and engaging leading experts across disciplines.
We welcome research submissions in law, economics, finance, history, anthropology, sociology, political science and political economy (among others!) and policy discussion proposals from public and private sector practitioners and civil society representatives. DebtCon does not normally reimburse speaker travel expenses; however, in exceptional cases, limited need-based funding may be available for emerging scholars and practitioners, and for speakers traveling from developing countries.
Submission topics for DebtCon8, A Homecoming may include, but are not limited to:
- Domestic debt and debt market institutions in advanced and developing economies
- Domestic politics and sovereign debt
- Public debt and financial stability
- Diagnosis and design for liquidity, solvency, sustainability, and resilience
- Debt transparency and debt accountability
- New instruments and contractual innovations
- Geopolitics and debt
- Debt and the climate crisis
- Debt restructuring architecture: Clubs, Frameworks, Roundtables, et al.
- Statutory restructuring regimes
To apply, please upload an abstract, precis, or complete manuscript here no later than March 31, 2025. Please upload policy panel proposals here no later than April 30, 2025. Our organizing committee will evaluate proposals and issue invitations to participants in May. Invitations to paper presenters are contingent on uploading complete manuscripts here no later than September 1, 2025. We will add program and logistics information to this page in the coming months. You can check back regularly, or subscribe to our mailing list here.
Organizers
- Anna Gelpern (Georgetown Law IIEL and Sovereign Debt Forum)
- Martin Kessler (Finance for Development Lab)
- Layna Mosley (Princeton University)
- Ugo Panizza (Geneva Graduate Institute)
We look forward to seeing you in DC in October 2025!
Sincerely,
Institute of International Economic Law (IIEL)
Georgetown Law / Georgetown University
