IMF Conference

The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the IMF Economic Review are inviting paper submissions for a conference on “The Euro at 20” to be held in Dublin on June 25-26, 2018.

Since its launch in January 1999, the euro project has received much praise as well as criticism. As the currency is about to turn twenty, the conference will take stock of the euro’s performance. The conference organizers seek both theoretical and empirical research contributions on topics of central importance to currency areas in general, and the euro area in particular. We invite submissions that address the following questions, but submissions are limited to these particular issues. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

Fiscal policy. Is fiscal union necessary to support a shared currency? How have the euro area agreements for deficit and debt management affected fiscal policy at the national level? Can fiscal and macro-prudential instruments substitute for exchange rate flexibility within the euro area?

Spillovers, externalities and risk sharing. How large are spillovers from financial, fiscal and trade shocks within and outside the euro area? What is the impact of financial and trade integration on the size of spillovers? What do spillovers imply for monetary policy and the coordination of fiscal policies? Have mechanisms for risk sharing evolved over time and how effective are they?

Banking, finance and monetary policy. How have the banking sector and financial markets been affected by the creation of the euro and the subsequent euro area crisis? How has the ECB performed relative to other central banks? How do the institutional specificities of the euro area affect the conduct and communication of monetary policy?

Real effects of the euro. How has the creation of the euro affected allocation of resources for members and non-members? How has it affected competition, economic geography, trade and real convergence in output and income? 

Imbalances and relative prices. What are the causes and consequences of current account imbalances inside and outside the euro area? What role do gross capital flows play? How do they relate to TARGET2 imbalances? How have relative prices and wages evolved over time in the euro area? Are internal devaluations sufficient to offset the loss of exchange flexibility between euro economies?

Political economy and institutions. Can the rise of populism be related to the euro? How have political institutions adjusted to the opportunities and constraints resulting from a shared currency? Are these institutions likely to be resilient to future crises?

Please send submissions in Adobe PDF format to: Euro20@imf.org. Selected papers will be considered for publication in a special issue of the IMF Economic Review. Along with your submission, please indicate whether you also want to contribute to this issue. Submissions that are not being submitted to the Review are also welcome.

Deadline for paper submissions is March 15, 2018. Authors of accepted papers will be informed by April 15, 2018. Preference will be given to finished papers. The organizers will fund travel and accommodation expenses for speakers (one per paper) and discussants.

The organizing committee

Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan (University of Maryland and guest editor, IMF Economic Review)

Philippe Martin (Sciences Po and guest editor, IMF Economic Review)

Emine Boz (IMF and co-editor, IMF Economic Review)

Mark Cassidy (Central Bank of Ireland)

Philip Lane (Central Bank of Ireland)

Linda Tesar (University of Michigan and editor, IMF Economic Review)