CESifo Workshop: Digital Platforms - Methods, Policy and Politics
CESifo Workshop: Digital Platforms - Methods, Policy and Politics
Monday 1 Jun 2026An event created in collaboration with the ifo Institute, ETH Zurich, CAGE, and the University of Warwick.
The trade-offs between freedom of choice, speech, and political expression on one side, and societal welfare on the other, continue to challenge policymakers seeking to regulate digital platforms. This workshop focuses on recent advances in research on the design, regulation, and user benefits of digital platforms, as well as their broader societal implications. It will examine a wide range of platforms—including social media, streaming services, dating apps, digital marketplaces, and AI‑powered tools—and aims to inform policy debates across multiple contexts, with particular attention to the intersection of platform regulation and politics. The workshop also seeks to advance research methodologies for studying digital platforms, especially the role of AI tools.
Organisers: Annalí Casanueva Artís; Mateusz Stalinski
Sponsors: CESifo; ETH Zurich; CAGE
Keynote: Ruben Enikolopov
Please note, participation in this event is limited to invited delegates.
Date: Friday 19 – Saturday 20 June 2026
For external speakers staying overnight at Scarman, dinner will be hosted at the Lakeview Restaurant on 18 June from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
Location: Scarman, Space 11, University Of Warwick Scarman Rd, Coventry CV4 7SH
Friday 19 June
| 07:00 - 08:30 | Breakfast, Lakeview Restaurant - External delegates only |
| 09:00 - 09:35 | Marita Freimane (University of Zurich), Gender Bias, Feedback, and Productivity |
| 09:35 - 10:10 | Lily Shevchenko (University of Warwick), Can Hate Speech be Banned Online? The Effects of Shutting Down Toxic Forums on Reddit |
| 10:10 - 10:45 |
Elliot Motte (UPF), Insult Politics in the Age of Social Media |
| 10:45 - 11:15 | Coffee break |
| 11:15 - 11:50 | Carolina Prado (Insper), Candidate Behavior in Local Elections: Campaigning in the Digital Age |
| 11:50 - 12:25 | Lehan Zhang (ETH Zurich), Adding Fuel to the (Gun)Fire: How Politicians Polarize the Public Debate |
| 12:25 - 13:00 | Mateusz Stalinski (University of Warwick), The Prosocial Ranking Challenge: Reducing Polarization on Social Media without Sacrificing Engagement |
| 13:00 - 14:30 | Lunch, Lakeview Restaurant |
| 14:30 - 15:05 | Rafael Jiménez-Durán (Bocconi University), The Supply and Demand of AI Sycophancy |
| 15:05 - 15:40 | Kazimier Smith (MIT), Birth, Life, and Death of AI Models |
| 15:40 - 16:15 | Jaime Marques-Pereira (University of Lancaster), The Joe Rogan Podcast "by Night": Public Health and the Dimming Reach of Influence |
| 16:15 - 16:50 | George Beknazar-Yuzbashev (University of Chicago), Social Media Toxicity and Mental Health |
| 16:50 - 17:30 | Coffee break |
| 17:30 - 18:30 | Ruben Enikolopov, Keynote Address |
| 19:00 - 21:00 | Dinner, Lakeview Restaurant |
Saturday 20 June
| 07:00 - 08:30 | Breakfast, Lakeview Restaurant - External delegates only |
| 09:30 - 10:05 | Agustina Martinez (University of Leicester), The Power of Words: Economic Conditions, Political Discourse, and Support for Populism |
| 10:05 - 10:40 | Francesco Capozza (University of Barcelona), AI Images, Trust and News Demand |
| 10:40 - 11:10 | Coffee break |
| 11:10 -11:45 | Gísli Gylfason (Paris School of Economics), Doomscrolling: TikTok Use and News Consumption |
| 11:45 - 12:20 | Felix Schleef (HEC Paris), Consumer Choice between Recommendation Algorithms – Experimental Evidence |
| 13:00 - 14:30 | Lunch, Lakeview Restaurant |