Highlights from the 2025 MAER-Net Colloquium in Ottawa

by Tom Stanley, Sebastian Gechert, Jerome Geyer-Klingeberg, and Tomas Havranek

The Ottawa Colloquium was a wonderful experience and a great success. The quality of presentations and the richness of discussions have never been better. AI featured prominently this year, sparking lively debates that continue on MAER-Net’s blog. We also had many methodological contributions, each offering new ways to understand economics research or to avoid misinterpretation.

Of particular note were the excellent keynotes and the awarding of our Founder’s Medal. Shinichi Nakagawa adeptly presented five fascinating meta-meta studies from ecology and environmental science, and Andrew Gelman’s entertaining talk-and-chalk reminded us that “all of our default models are wrong.” Abel Brodeur received the MAER-Net’s Founders’ Medal for his outstanding contributions to economic science, including his Herculean efforts to make economics research reproducible and replicable.

Our sincere thanks go to Abel and the University of Ottawa for their gracious and generous hospitality. Abel and his team offered a master class in hosting research conferences: from meticulous planning and catering to expert tour guiding and insightful commentary on others’ research.

We also thank our core members for their continued support and willingness to share their work, and our brilliant young researchers for their eagerness to learn and to further develop meta-analytic methods. See the Ottawa Colloquium website for more details.

Lastly, we are pleased to announce that the 2026 MAER-Net Colloquium will be held at Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany, hosted by Sebastian Gechert and his team. Chemnitz is the 2025 European Capital of Culture, known for its heritage as a powerhouse of early industrialisation in Central Europe, Art Nouveau architecture, its changeful history before, during and after the German partition, and its recent reinvention as a city of subculture and indie-rock-music. The region around Chemnitz, including the Ore Mountains is characterized by a high density of medieval, Renaissance and Baroque castles as well as picturesque hiking and cycling routes. We are very much looking forward to seeing you in Chemnitz, September 23-25, 2026. See the Chemnitz Colloquium website for more details and updates.