The IMF Annual Research Conference: Economics of Crises―Past Experiences and Present Travails
IMF Blog, November 1, 2013
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Olivier Blanchard
- Published: November 1, 2013
Conference purpose and context
- Several years out from the global financial crisis, the world economy is still confronting its painful legacies: lackluster recoveries coupled with high and persistent unemployment.
- Policymakers are tackling costs stemming from the crisis, managing the transition from crisis-era policies, and adapting to associated cross-border spillovers.
- The IMF’s 14th Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference, entitled “Crises: Yesterday and Today,” will take stock of understanding of past and present crises and will take place on November 7-8.
Honor to Stanley Fischer and conference framing
- The 2013 conference will honor Stanley Fischer’s contributions to economic research and policy.
- Stan’s roles cited: faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Chief Economist of the World Bank; First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF; Governor of the Bank of Israel.
- The program brings together economists and policymakers who studied or collaborated with Stan; his insights and influence are emphasized throughout the program.
Keynote Mundell-Fleming lecture
- Speaker: Paul Krugman, recipient of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics and a student of Stan.
- Lecture title: “Currency Regimes, Capital Flows, and Crises.”
- Main conclusion described: using theory and case study analysis, Krugman reaches a thought-provoking conclusion: it is not possible to have such crises of confidence in countries that retain their own currencies, borrow in those currencies, and let their exchange rates float.
Major research questions and paper topics
- Thirteen other papers will examine lessons from past crises and issues from policies implemented since 2008, including:
- How Japan’s “lost decade” can inform prospects and appropriate policies for Europe and the United States today.
- Why Latin America and East Asia were more resilient to the most recent crisis than to past episodes of global turbulence.
- Empirical effects of policies during crises: depreciations, changes in interest rates, reserve sales, and capital controls.
- How fiscal policy has behaved differently between the latest crisis and past episodes and implications for economic growth.
- Whether it matters who sets goals of central banks for inflation outcomes.
- If large demand shocks have persistent effects on aggregate supply, how monetary policy should respond.
- Costs and benefits of having a higher inflation target or a nominal income target.
- Implications of different exchange rate arrangements for macroeconomic and financial stability.
Special events and speakers
- Opening speech: David Lipton, First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF.
- Luncheon speech (day 1): Mohamed El-Erian will speculate on what Stan Fischer would place on the institutional research agenda today and link discussion to prospects for the global economy and markets.
- Luncheon remarks (day 2): Ratna Sahay and Karnit Flug will honor Stan Fischer’s contributions to policymaking at the IMF and the Bank of Israel.
- Closing Economic Forum: “Policy Responses to Crises” chaired by Olivier Blanchard; panelists include Stan Fischer, Ben Bernanke, Ken Rogoff, and Larry Summers, discussing main policy lessons from past crises and readiness to handle the next potential crisis.
Dissemination and follow-up
- Many conference papers will be featured in the IMF Economic Review.
- Participants and the public are invited to read papers posted online and to join via webcasts of the Mundell-Fleming Lecture and the Economic Forum at www.imf.org, on Twitter (#ARCPolak), or by commenting on the blog.
The IMF Annual Research Conference: Economics of Crises―Past Experiences and Present Travails (Olivier Blanchard, November 1, 2013).
Content in this bundle
- 14th Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference; November 7–8, 2013
- Fourteenth Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference; Research Department, Imf; November 7–8, 2013
- 14th Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference; November 7–8, 2013
- 14th Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference; November 7–8, 2013
- 14th Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference; November 7–8, 2013
- 14th Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference; November 7–8, 2013
- 14th Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference; November 7–8, 2013
- 14th Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference; November 7–8, 2013
- 14th Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference; November 7–8, 2013
- 14th Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference; November 7–8, 2013