Travel Reimbursement Policy for NBER Conference Attendees

The NBER strives to enable as many researchers as possible to participate in its meetings.  To preserve the NBER’s limited resources, researchers who have non-NBER sources of support for their travel costs, such as grants to which their expenses can be appropriately charged, are therefore encouraged to utilize those funds. The NBER will reimburse reasonable expenses that travelers incur in connection with its meetings, subject to various limits.

General Guidelines

The NBER's auditors require that travel reimbursement forms must be submitted within 90 days of any meeting. Reimbursement requests must be accompanied by receipts and require a signature and date on the travel expense report form. The NBER does not pay per diems.  Expenses may only be reimbursed once. Any researcher submitting an expense claim to the NBER warrants that the same expenses are not being reimbursed from another source. Expenses not reimbursed by the NBER may be charged to other sources.

Domestic Air Travel

The NBER will reimburse the lowest available air fares for round-trip meeting travel from a researcher’s place of residence. First class, business class, full-fare or upgraded coach fares will not be reimbursed; travelers who choose to purchase upgraded fares should determine the lowest available fare at the time of purchase and request reimbursement for that amount. Please book travel well in advance of a meeting, when lower cost tickets are often available, and check all carriers, including those such as Southwest and JetBlue who do not sell through travel agents.

International Air Travel

Unless otherwise indicated, the NBER will reimburse the lowest coach airfare on international routes, up to a cap of $1,200. Some NBER meetings are supported by federal grants. In this case, the meeting invitation will indicate that US-flag carriers must be used for foreign travel. In general, researchers who are traveling to NBER meetings from abroad should discuss plans to purchase a ticket on a foreign carrier with the NBER conference staff prior to purchase.

Local Ground Transportation

The NBER will reimburse actual expenses up to $125 per meeting for bus, train, rideshare, and/or taxi services. Higher reimbursement limits may apply for certain grant funded meetings. If rides are shared with other meeting participants, please include that information on the reimbursement request. Mileage for use of a private car is reimbursed at 70 cents per mile. Actual parking costs will be reimbursed up to $75.

Hotel Information

The NBER negotiates special rates with the hotels that host our meetings.  Room charges for the minimum number of nights necessary for participants to attend the meeting are billed directly to the NBER's master account. The number of nights paid for will be noted in the meeting invitation.  Additional nights at the hotel will not be reimbursed but can often be booked, and paid for by the traveler, at the discounted meeting rate. Meeting participants are responsible for any incidental charges.

Please notify the NBER as soon as possible, even on the day of the meeting, in the event of travel plan disruptions that affect hotel requests.  Meeting participants are expected to reimburse the NBER for hotel reservations that are booked but not used.

Meals

The NBER generally provides meals to participants throughout the conference, but, beginning on March 1, 2025, does not reimburse travelers for other meals in connection with meeting travel.

Questions?

Questions about reimbursement issues should be directed to the NBER Conference Department at confer@nber.org.

Last updated 1/27/2025