PRINCETON INITIATIVE
Following the Princeton Tradition of incorporating financial frictions in macroeconomic
models, the Princeton Initiative Camp brings together top 2nd-year Ph.D. students from
various Universities who wish to write a Ph.D. thesis at the intersection of macroeconomics,
monetary economics, and finance. The recent experience, starting with the run-up of
imbalances and bubbles in the first decade of the 21st century, followed by a severe financial
crisis that ultimately led to the Great Recession, calls for new frameworks to study macro-
prudential policy tools and to design a new international financial architecture. This meeting
aims to bridge modern finance, monetary, and macroeconomics and introduce top students
from across the country to macroeconomic models with financial frictions and/or non-
standard expectations. Held annually in September, the conference exposes promising young
researchers to macroeconomic models with financial frictions and/or non-standard
expectations, while giving them the opportunity to network and learn from one another. Yuliy
Sannikov and Markus Brunnermeier lead this effort.
DEMAND SYSTEM ASSET PRICING 
The purpose of this conference is to teach Ph.D. students, faculty, and those from policy
institutions and the industry how to use asset demand systems to answer questions in asset
pricing and macrofinance using modern AI and machine learning tools. Topics include data
construction, asset and investor embeddings, model estimation, identification, and
applications. It is led by BCF faculty Motohiro Yogo and Ralph Koijen of Chicago’s Booth
School of Business. The conference was held on May 14 and 15, 2026.
VOX CHINA INITIATIVE 
VOXChina continues to be a leading platform for research-driven insights on China's
economy, policies, and financial markets. Over the past year, it has advanced academic and
policy discussions by publishing articles from renowned economists on topics like
macroeconomic trends, labor markets, trade policies, and the digital economy. Recently, it
expanded its reach with engaging videos summarizing key research and featuring experts
discussing issues such as monetary policy, financial reforms, and international trade. The
VOXChina initiative is coordinated by Wei Xiong, John H. Scully '66 Professor in Finance and
Professor of Economics, and BCF Director Markus Brunnermeier.
The Center engages in several research-related initiatives.
RESEARCH INITIATIVES
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