IMF Conference in Honor of Michael Mussa: MussaFest
Washington D.C., June 4-5, 2004
International Monetary Fund
700 19th Street, N.W.,
Washington D.C. 20431

The IMF's Research Department is organizing a conference in honor of Michael Mussa's 60^th birthday to be held June 4-5, 2004, at the IMF's headquarters in Washington D.C. Michael Mussa has contributed widely and influentially to economic theory and empirics, and served as the Fund's Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department from 1991 to 2001. He also was a Member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers from 1986 to 1988. He was a professor at University of Chicago, University of Rochester, the City University of New York, the London School of Economics, and the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

During his career, Michael Mussa studied extensively the macroeconomic problems inherent to open economies. Furthermore, he applied his knowledge to the design of economic policy and prevention of crises for developing and developed countries. His contributions inspired many economists in the academic world and at the IMF.

Given these facts, and the continuing importance attached to Michael Mussa's role in international economics policy making, the IMF will hold a conference for scholars, academics, and policymakers to get together, share their thoughts, and honor him in a two-day conference.

The Conference is open to the public – through the IMF Center entrance. Please register by sending an e-mail to mussafest@imf.org. Public registration closed on May 31.

9:00am

Introductory Remarks
Agustín Carstens (Deputy Managing Director, IMF)

9:15-10:45am

Session 1: Finance, Growth, and Moral Hazard

Chair: Edward Lazear (Hoover Institution and Stanford University)

"Michael Mussa and IMF-Induced Moral Hazard"
Olivier Jeanne (IMF) and Jeromin Zettelmeyer (IMF)

Discussants: Carmen Reinhart (University of Maryland) and Miguel Savastano (IMF)

10:45-11:15am

Coffee Break

11:15-12:45pm

Session 2: What Does History Tell Us About Current Fund Problems?

Chair: Raghuram Rajan (IMF)

"WEO Chapter for 1492, 1787 or 1860"
Stan Engerman (University of Rochester)

"Reconsidering World War II Expectations of Economic Growth from the Perspective of 2004"
Robert Fogel (University of Chicago)

Discussants: Michael Bordo (Rutgers) and James Boughton (IMF)

2:00-3:30pm

Session 3: Trade Topics

Chair: Ronald Hansen (University of Rochester)

"US Trade Remedies and the Adjustment Process"
Rachel McCulloch (Brandeis University) and Chad Bown (Brandeis University)

Discussants: Richard Clarida (Columbia University)

3:30-4:00pm

Coffee Break

4:00-5:30pm

Session 4: Chicago Trade Workshop Revisited: The Transfer Problem, Bubbles, and the Real Exchange Rate

Chair: Jacob Frenkel (American International Group, Inc.)

"The Thirty Five Most Tumultuous Years in Monetary History: Shocks and Financial Trauma"
Robert Aliber (University of Chicago)

"The Real Exchange Rate"
Al Harberger (UCLA)

Discussants: Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti (IMF) and Robert Flood (IMF)

9:15-10:45am

Session 5: Current Research Topics

Chair: Flemming Larsen (IMF)

"Exchange-Rate Regimes: Does What Countries Say Matter?"
Hans Genberg (Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Switzerland) and Alexandre Swoboda (Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Switzerland)

Discussant: Luis Catao (IMF) and Craig Hakkio (Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas)

10:45-11:15am

Coffee Break

11:15am-12:45pm

Session 6: Fleming-Mundell and Monetary Policy

Chair: Hiroyuki Hino (IMF)

"Mundell's 'International Economics': Adaptations and Debates"
Russ Boyer (University of Western Ontario) and Warren Young (Bar Ilan University)

"Learning Monetary Policy Rules and Exchange-Rate Dynamics"
Nelson Mark (University of Notre Dame)

Discussants: Manmohan Kumar (IMF) and Robert Flood (IMF)

Organized by the IMF's Research Department

Program Organizer: Robert Flood (rflood@imf.org).

Conference Coordinator: Rosalind Oliver (roliver@imf.org)