CFP

DECON'26: 8th International Conference on Decision Economics

University of Naples Federico II

Naples, Italy, October 21-23, 2026

Conference website	https://www.decision-economics.net/
Submission link	https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=decon26
Submission deadline	April 17, 2026

SCOPE

The scientific initiative called 'Decision Economics' (also known by the acronym DECON) is home to an engaged and vibrant research community that fosters and prioritises the cross-fertilisation of ideas through cross-disciplinary collaborations in the synergistic creation of new knowledge and research potential within science and broader publics. Working alongside internationally recognised researchers and scientists, DECON’s research programmes accommodate a broad range of subjects, interests, and disciplines, and welcome a wide spectrum of approaches, methods, and ideas revolving around decision-making rationale. If one looks around carefully, indeed, one will see that decision-making—and its outcomes, i.e., decisions—is a fact of life, namely, is involved in everyday life and relations, not just in economics, but also in the inherent nature of humans, as well as in social norms and social phenomena. Thus, much of the research on Decision Economics has hitherto been based on the underlying decision-theoretic foundations of economic behaviour, modelling the logic of discovery in Peircean (i.e., anti-Popperian) retroductive modes, and dealing with causal inferences before any aggregation can be properly operated and any correlation analysis can be scientifically defended. Fundamentally, this is about algorithmic social science forming DECON’s disciplining criterion—whether normative or descriptive—with prominent methodological approaches generating a theoretical framework that emphasises the importance of factors within the cognitive, social, and evolutionary domains and their interactions. Problematising the interactions between these domains helps give insights into our contemporaneity and provides a novel way of bridging the so-called great divide between the artificial and social sciences on the one hand, and the natural sciences on the other (not to mention humanities and human ecology). Adherence to a more scientific and conscious approach and implementation of decision-making has been—and still is—the key within DECON.

Through all of these scales and their various shapes concerned, the current global health and economic crises—which adds to the preceding, unresolved so-called Great Recession—have led to the re-emergence of complex inner problems and tough ecological conditions for humankind and its ecologies, creating an even more uncertain and unstable environment for all, and placing increasing pressure on the ability to both make effective decisions in a timely fashion and plan for the future. Undoubtedly, despite the persistence of motivations to apply agents and multi-agent systems, and although the bulk of data processed and predictive technology integral to modern business operations and business-critical activities, nearly all knowledge-based organisations these days are dealing with a lot of uncertainty and the 'what if' scenarios, very often without even the cause and effect being known or understood. However, due to a growing recognition of empirical and theoretical developments of bounded rationality and how they relate to the complexity and uncertainty of the environment, even in light of the co-occurrence of inherent complexities of natural and social phenomena such as a global pandemic, the debate around decision-making, decision support systems, and the related capacity to decide has shifted in focus to become more mindful and productive, and more thoughtful in solving problems. In this regard, many DECON’s spontaneously formed research groups are multi-disciplinary and often involve collaborations with partners in industry, academia, research institutions, and government, producing a substantial body of research jointly conducted over the years, under the banner of intercultural dialogue and capacity building as well.

In light of the foregoing, the international community that goes by the name of DECON has fostered an increasing spirit of collaboration, inclusion, mutual understanding, and engagement for all as time goes by. Today, DECON is a non-profit, person-centered research community devoted to the aspiration to blending science into intellectual social responsibility, as well as to sharing research and development progress in the broad spectrum of topics covered—ranging from cognitive through evolutionary to social sciences—and in the range of research perspectives, namely, methodological, theoretical, computational, experimental, and empirical studies.

DECON was founded in 2015 at the initiative of Edgardo Bucciarelli, Shu-Heng Chen, and J. Manuel Corchado. Its mission is to advance understanding of the research in social and cognitive sciences in order to find answers to forward-looking scientific questions, with the main purpose to further research in directions that are of broad interest in the spirit of both the cognitive foundations of economics developed by Herbert A. Simon and the mathematical foundations of the kind of economic theorising underpinned by the work of Alan M. Turing.

TOPICS

∎ The Keynesian theory of financial markets: Keynesian-type instability and crisis theory.

∎ Financial fragility and crises: How does Minsky’s financial instability hypothesis illuminate the mechanisms underlying the 2008 crisis and the persistent instability in today’s global markets?

∎ Financial frictions and the financial accelerator: Contemporary perspectives in macro-financial modelling.

∎ Theoretical and empirical investigations into financial deepening and financialisation.

∎ From efficient financial markets to the theory of crises.

∎ The rise of money manager capitalism and its implications for economic theory and policy.

∎ Keynesian economics and modern instabilities: To what extent can Minsky’s reinterpretation of Keynes offer solutions to mitigate the recurring cycles of boom and bust?

∎ Banking supervision, macroprudential policies, and financial regulatory frameworks.

∎ Lessons from the Great Recession: How can policymakers draw on Minsky’s work to address the challenges posed by financial deregulation, the proliferation of complex financial instruments, and global interconnectedness?

∎ Interconnectedness of bank and firm networks: Implications for systemic risks.

∎ Minskyan Perspectives on Contemporary Financial Reforms: What role do institutions play in promoting stability within inherently unstable financial systems, and how might Minsky’s emphasis on regulatory frameworks guide modern reform efforts?

∎ Policies for addressing financial and monetary instability: Conventional and unconventional methods and instruments.

∎ Excessive leverage, asset bubbles, and the dynamics of the financial cycle.

∎ Shadow banking, securitisation and the emergence of financial crises.

∎ Excessive leverage, bubbles, and the financial cycle.

∎ Socialisation of investment: The role of the State as employer of last resort.

Originating in 2015, DECON embodies original and comparative research, as well as annual follow-up assessments on decision-making and economics, aggregate outcomes, and implications for social and cognitive sciences. It involves several international research institutions and over three hundred authors and academic departments. In the continuing spirit of international cooperation, the steering and organising Committee of DECON issues this Call for Papers, culminating in the annual three-day Symposium to be held in hybrid form Naples (Italy).

SPECIAL CONFERENCE TRACKS

In addition to the main conference track, eight special sessions are also planned to enable insights into economics, decision-making, cognitive sciences, and related subjects. They will represent further highlights of the seventh edition of Decision Economics by connecting a dynamic and interdisciplinary group of researchers to the Conference:

(i) “AI-driven Decision Making” (AIDM) is an immersive session organised and coordinated by Stefano Za and Marco Smacchia (University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy), and Michele Cipriano (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart - Piacenza). One of the interests of this special track is related to the design and evaluation of AI-driven decision making. At the same time, this track also raises the question of whether and how relatively more rational and mindful decision-making could depend on human-driven and AI-driven policy influence.

(ii) “Ethics of Decision-Making and Economics” (EDME) is a consolidated session organised and coordinated by Tony E. Persico (Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, United States), Tony Guidotti (Harvard University), and Elizabeth Garlow (New America Foundation). The session aims to discuss and understand today’s ethical challenges in political economy and economic policy, focusing on economic methodology and the philosophy of science and economics.

(iii) “Smart Heuristics for Civil Servants” (SMAHCS), launched by Rino Rumiati (University of Padua) and Davide Pietroni (University of Chieti-Pescara), is a thought-provoking conference session that explores various topics related to effectively engaging with the complexity and uncertainty inherent in the issues the civil service and public administration institutions face.

(iv) “Economics, Law and Psychology in Taxation: Perspectives and Critical Issues of Behavioral Taxation” (BETA) by Salvatore Villani and Loredana Strianese (University of Naples Federico II) is a well-established conference session aimed at disseminating recent advancements and emerging trends in the psychological analysis of economic behaviour pioneered by scholars such as George Katona.

(v) “Socio-Behavioural Research and Human-Centred Design” (SOCBER) by Ionut Virgil Serban (University of Craiova) and Gianmarco Cifaldi (University of Chieti-Pescara) is a conference session intended to highlight behavioural science on decision-making and design research, understanding the stakeholders’ perspectives to help policies and programmes respond properly to human evolving needs.

(vi) “Decision-Making for Public Sector Recovery” (DEPSER) by Simone Cifolelli and Lorenzo Fabiani (University of Turin) is a session that has reached its second year of operation and aims to broaden perspectives and inspire action to reaffirm the strategic role of the State, regulation, local government, and public finance in the economy of uncertainty.

(vii) “Evolution of Organisations and Systems through Blockchain Technology and Tokenisation Economy” (EOS) by Aurora Ascatigno (University of Chieti-Pescara) and Sowelu Avanzo (University of Turin) is a novel scientific session that delves into the conceptual roots and real-world complexities of Decentralised Autonomous Organisations, conceived as socio-technical ecosystems that intertwine the threads of economics, computer science, and organisational theory.

(viii) “Law and Economics Issues” (LEI) by Andrea Toto (The Italian University Line of Florence) and Lorenzo Fabiani (University of Turin) is a novel session focussed on the interplay between legal structures and market innovation. The session seeks to explore the significant impact that legal structures have on shaping economic dynamics.

For further insights, see https://www.decision-economics.net/tracks