Come to Second Order: San Salvador!
An economics unconference 7–11 January, at Palestra House in San Salvador
Dates: 7th to 11th January 2025
Location: Palestra House, San Salvador
✨ Apply here! Applications are due December 21st, EOD AoE. ✨
What is Second Order?
A five‑day residential unconference for ~30 early‑career economists, policy wonks and kindred thinkers. At an unconference, the schedule is participant driven: we collaboratively craft the content at the beginning of each day, so you can run whatever you are most enthusiastic about! The classic case for this is that conversations in corridors between sessions are often the most valuable part of traditional conferences, hence unconferences aim to transform the entire conference in this manner. Some sessions from previous iterations:
Replication markets
Threshold models of preference cascades
A step-by-step guide for how you won’t build a house in London
Informational supply chains
A history of cybernetics
Uncertainties on optimal immigration policy
Evaluating mechanisms for fertility decline
The promise of for-profit government
Introduction to mechanism design
Writing a manifesto for Reform
Evenings will include informal talks, shared dinners, and plenty of unstructured time for conversation and mischief—plus the usual Second Order traditions of games, lightning talks, and late-night debates.
Expect Garett Jones, Robin Hanson, and possibly Salvadoran policymakers!
Who should apply
We’re primarily looking for curious people with some economics-adjacent interests. Note that some of our most valuable participants previously had no formal economics training, and we’re seeking a diverse group with varied backgrounds—so when in doubt, apply!
A few other things we value are demonstrated excellence in other areas, super reasoning / critical thinking ability, and desire to understand the world as an entire system rather than just one particular part.
Logistics
We’ll offer two kinds of tickets: residential and non-residential. Residential tickets will be limited and include lodging at or near the Palestra House. We expect to charge around $250 for students and $400 for non-students (residential), and $100 for non-residential attendees. We’ll finalise the cost by the time of the acceptance email. If cost is a barrier, please apply anyway and note it in your form—we can likely subsidize a few places.
We won’t be providing most meals. The unconference scheduling software will include meal slots so participants can self-organize lunches and dinners—whether that’s cooking together or sampling restaurants around San Salvador. We’ll provide a stocked refrigerator, an opening dinner, and a closing brunch, but otherwise meals will be left open.
Venue: The conference will take place at Palestra House. Check-in will be Wendesday, January 5th, at 4 PM. We will disperse on Sunday, 11th January. All beds will be singles, and single gender rooms will be available should that be your preference. The venue has a pool, so you may wish to bring swimming costumes.
Travel: A taxi from the El Salvador International takes an hour to get to San Salvador.
Contact
Please email second.order.retreat@gmail.com if you have any questions or concerns.
✨ Apply here! Applications are due December 21st, EOD AoE.✨
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