The Bank of Lithuania organisational structure includes two autonomous divisions, which operate alongside twelve autonomous departments, comprising their respective Divisions. The Center for Excellence in Finance and Economic Research aims to conduct and publish internationally-acclaimed economic and financial research, Internal Audit Division assesses various Bank of Lithuania activities through audits.
The Center for Excellence in Finance and Economic Research (CEFER) is an independent structural unit of the Bank of Lithuania, whose partners are Vilnius University and Kaunas University of Technology. The mission of CEFER is to enhance the quality of economics education in Lithuania, to promote high-level discussions on topical academic issues in economics and finance, and to educate the public. CEFER conducts a wide range of research in economics and finance that contributes to the quality of decision-making necessary for the Bank of Lithuania's core functions and publishes its outcomes in international scientific journals of the highest repute.
|
[[#ex]]
Main goals
CEFER aims to:
- improve the quality of economics and finance education in Lithuania;
- to promote high-level debate on relevant academic issues in economics and finance;
- organise seminars, conferences, lectures, trainings and invited lecture series;
- educate the public;
- strengthen the image of the Bank of Lithuania as a center of excellence in finance and economics;
- to research a wide range of economic and financial issues, contributing to quality decision-making necessary for the Bank of Lithuania's core functions, and to publish them in international research journals of the highest repute.
Research priorities
Economists at CEFER conduct academic research and publish their papers in well-reputed scientific journals. Main research topics include the following:
- Quantitative macroeconomics;
- Household finance;
- International trade;
- International macroeconomics;
- Finance;
- Labour economics;
- Macrofinance;
- Real Estate Economics.
Center activities
- Development, administration and teaching of the Quantitative Economics Bachelor program;
- Planning and conducting doctoral courses;
- Training of Bank of Lithuania staff, researchers, students;
- Administration of Bank of Lithuania Science Prizes;
- International conferences, invited lecture series, research seminars, workshops: "Vilnius Winter meetings", CEFER/VU/KTU. You can learn more about past and upcoming events of the Bank of Lithuania here.
- Research projects with Lithuanian and foreign scientists;
- CEFER Challenge contest;
- Cooperation with scientific, economic policy and research institutions (CEPR, CEBRA, STRATA, etc.).
Evaluation Report of CEFER
- 2023 Evaluation Report of CEFER (261.8 KB download icon)
[[#ex]]
CEFER researchers
-
Aurelija Proškutė, PhDApplied Macroeconomic Research Division and CEFER
Head of Applied Macroeconomic Research Division and Director of CEFER -
Linas Tarasonis, PhDCEFER
Principal Economist -
Swapnil Singh, PhDCEFER
Principal Economist -
Eglė Jakučionytė, PhDCEFER
Principal Economist -
Ziran (Josh) Ding, PhDCEFER
Senior Economist -
Junghum Park, PhDCEFER
Senior Economist -
Žymantas Budrys, PhdCEFER
Senior Economist -
Laima ŠtulaitėCEFER
Specialist
The full list of researchers at the Bank of Lithuania is available here.
[[#ex]]
[[#ex]]
Past conferences
Conference "New Dimensions of Monetary Policy"
A conference organized jointly by the National Bank of Poland (NBP), the Central Bank Research Association (CEBRA), the Bank of Lithuania and the Research Centre. Conference took place on 22-23 September 2022.
Keynote speakers: Alberto Cavallo (Harvard Business School) and Ricardo Reis (London School of Economics and Political Science).
More information here.
Baltic Economic Conference 2022
Keynote speaker: Kaivan Munshi, Professor of Economics at Yale University. He is one of the leading experts in development economics, with a focus on the role of social institutions and their interaction with economic activity in the development phase of an economy.
More information here.
Virtual conference “Adjustments in and to an Uncertain World”
Bank of Lithuania and CEFER together with National Bank of Poland (NBP), Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and Central Bank Research Association (CEBRA) organized conference “Adjustments in and to an Uncertain World”.
Keynote speakers: Jennifer La’O (Columbia University and FED Minneapolis), Kalina Manova (University College London), Beata Javorcik (Oxford University and EBRD).
More information is available here.
25th International Panel Data Conference
The Bank of Lithuania and its Center for Excellence in Finance and Economic Research (CEFER) were involved in the organisation of the 25th International Panel Data Conference, which took place on 4-5 July 2019 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The keynote speakers were Manuel Arellano (CEMFI), Peter Egger (ETH Zurich), Ivan Fernandez-Val (Boston University) and Bo Honore (Princeton University).
For more information, visit the conference website.
First international Baltic Economics Conference
The Inaugural Baltic Economic Conference took place on 11-12 June 2018 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The keynote speaker of the first conference was Hashem Pesaran, professor of the University of Cambridge and the University of Southern California, who contributed to a wide range of topics on economics and econometrics, including a global economic model revealing how economic crises spread among countries.
For more information, visit the conference website.
Research papers
2023:
Wage and Employment Impact of Minimum Wage: Evidence from Lithuania, Jose Garcia-Louzao and Linas Tarasonis. Journal of Comparative Economics, Volume 51, Issue 2, June 2023, Pages 592-609.
Emergence of subprime lending in minority neighborhoods, Eglė Jakučionytė and Swapnil Singh. Real Estate Economics, June 2023.
A large creditor in contagious liquidity crises, Frederick Dongchuhl Oh and Junghum Park. Journal of Banking & Finance, Volume 146, January 2023.
2022:
Bowling alone, buying alone: The decline of co-borrowers in the US mortgage market, Eglė Jakučionytė and Swapnil Singh. Journal of Housing Economics, Volume 58, Part B, December 2022.
A large creditor in contagious liquidity crises, Junghum Park, Frederick Dongchuhl Oh. Journal of Banking and Finance, Volume 27, August 2022, Pages 1101-1119.
Banking regulation and collateral screening in a model of information asymmetry, Benjamin Hemingway, Journal of Financial Services Research, May 2022, Volume 61, Pages 367-405.
2021:
Firm heterogeneity, variable markups, and multinational production: A review from trade policy perspective, Ziran Ding. Journal of Economic Surveys, Volume 36(5), December 2021, Pages 1311-1357.
Lockdown, employment adjustment, and financial frictions by Povilas Lastauskas. Small Business Economics. June 2021.
The factor analytical approach in near unit root interactive effects panels by Milda Norkutė, Joakim Westerlund. Journal of Econometrics, Volume 221(2), April 2021, Pages 569-590.
Instrumental Variable Estimation of Dynamic Linear Panel Data Models with Defactored Regressors and a Multifactor Error Structure by Milda Norkutė, Vasilis Sarafidis, Takashi Yamagata, Guowei Cui. Journal of Econometrics, Volume 220(2), February 2021, Pages 416-446.
The macroeconomics of carry trade gone wrong: Corporate and consumer losses in Emerging Europe, Eglė Jakučionytė and Sweder van Wijnbergen. Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, December 2021.
(2021) Innovation dynamics and fiscal policy: Implications for growth, asset prices, and welfare, Michael Donadelli and Patrick Grüning. The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Volume 57, July 2021.
2020:
Technology trade with asymmetric tax regimes and heterogeneous labour markets: Implications for macro quantities and asset prices by Patrick Grüning, Giuliano Curatola and Michael Donadelli. International Journal of Finance & Economics.
Labor market reforms and the monetary policy environment, Povilas Lastauskas and Julius Stakėnas. European Economic Review, Volume 128, September 2020, 103509.
Labour Market Institutions in Open Economy: Sectoral Reallocations, Aggregate Adjustments and Spillovers by Povilas Lastauskas and Julius Stakėnas. Review of International Economics, Volume 28, Issue 3, August 2020, Pages 814-845.
Consumption Insurance with Advance Information, Swapnil Singh and Christian Stoltenberg. Quantitative Economics, Volume 11, Issue 2, May 2020, Pages 671-711.
2019:
Whether and How Does Convergence Between EU and Lithuania Take Place?, Povilas Lastauskas. Book chapter in Lietuvos narystė Europos Sąjungoje: atskaitos taškai ir judėjimo kryptys, ISBN: 9786098163179, 2019, Pages 156.
2018:
The Knotty Interplay Between Credit and Housing, Mihnea Constantinescu and Povilas Lastauskas. The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Volume 70, November 2018, Pages 241-266.
Openness and Structural Labour Market Reforms: Ex-ante Counterfactuals, Povilas Lastauskas and Julius Stakėnas. Contemporary Economic Policy, Vol 36, Issue 4, October 2018, Pages 723-757.
Heterogeneity in the internationalization of R&D: Implications for anomalies in finance and macroeconomics, Patrick Grüning. Finance Research Letters, Vol 26, September 2018, Pages 132-138.
Optimal Monetary Policy under Sectoral Interconnections, Swapnil Singh and Roel Beetsma. Netherlands Economic Review (De Economist).
Structural Labour Market Reforms in the EU-15: Single-country vs. Coordinated Counterfactuals, Povilas Lastauskas and Julius Stakėnas. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Vol 44, March 2018, Pages. 88-99.
CEFER insights
CEFER insights provides a glimpse of the type of work we are doing at CEFER, how we are developing international research networks, and engaging Lithuanian universities in educational and research activities.
- 2022 Volume 3 of Insights, the newsletter of CEFER and Applied Macroeconomic Research Unit, which provides an overview of our activities in 2021. Insights 2022 is available here. (4.1 MB download icon)
- This year we collaborated with Applied Macroeconomic Research Division to provide a broader picture of research at the Bank of Lithuania. Insights 2021 is available here. (2.5 MB download icon)
- The first newsletter of the CEFER provides an overview of the research activities. CEFER Insights 2020 is available here. (1.2 MB download icon)
CEFER Challenge
The CEFER Challenge, inspired by the Federal Reserve Challenge in the US, is an annual thematic team competition for undergraduate and/or master level students from various academic disciplines. Students are encouraged to learn and think outside the box about the issues related to the euro area macroeconomy, the financial system, and the implementation of monetary policy. To learn more about CEFER Challenge click here
[[#ex]]
CEFER, in collaboration with Vilnius University and the Applied Macroeconomic Research Division of the Bank of Lithuania (TMTS), has developed a Bachelor’s degree programme in Quantitative Economics, the first in Lithuania to combine mathematics, statistics, data science and economics. The English-taught programme led by CEFER and TMTS researchers as well as lecturers from the Faculty of Economics and Mathematics at Vilnius University offers you an international experience in Lithuania.
|
The study programme, reflecting the best practices of world-class universities, provides students with experience in applying quantitative and modeling methods as well as modern economic problem-solving skills, which will be highly valuable in the job market both now and especially in the future.
Having completed this study programme, students will have the opportunity to continue their studies in top-level economics master's programmes, pursue careers in data analytics, business and finance industries, or work in state and international institutions.
The programme aims to attract young talents and encourage them to stay in Lithuania, while also preparing a new generation of analysts capable of combining economic intuition, data analysis, mathematical and computer modelling, thereby contributing to the increase in the supply of highly-skilled professionals.
Why choose Quantitative Economics?
- It is the only three-year English-taught bachelor's programme in Economics in the country.
- The course has been developed and prepared in collaboration with researchers from the Bank of Lithuania.
- It is taught by researchers and professors who have obtained degrees from prestigious universities worldwide.
- The study programme introduces the main quantitative methods and theoretical economics as well as their application possibilities.
- It combines the next-generation CORE project, OpenStax and other state-of-the-art open-sources with mathematics, statistics, econometrics, and data science.
- The programme provides training on par with the world‘s top university programmes.
- Top students will be offered scholarships: Nasdaq Scholarship, Bank of Lithuania Scholarship, and VU FEBA Admission Scholarship for foreign students.
Social partners: Bank of Lithuania, Nasdaq, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania.
-
Evaluation of CEFER: its work stands out in the Baltic countries2023 09 12
-
Student of Quantitative Economics Urtė who won the Bank of Lithuania scholarship: it was an opportunity to gain knowledge abroad2023 09 05
-
Sharing experience of studying Quantitative Economics: foreign lecturers, valuable internship and career opportunities2023 07 17
-
The graduate student experience: a Bachelor’s degree in three years and a successful career2023 07 13
Working papers
More[[#ex]]
Data initiative
To learn more about databases developed by Bank of Lithuania researchers click here.
Internship at CEFER
The CEFER internship programme aims to guide interns through the process of writing academic research papers in the field of economics. At CEFER our research focuses on a diverse range of topics, including macro-finance, banking and international economics. CEFER invites students studying in Lithuania and abroad to apply for an internship position.
Eligible candidates
- Master’s degree students or having at least a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Statistics, Mathematics, Finance or another related field
- Ambitious and willing to contribute to one or several CEFER research projects
- Excellent written and verbal skills in English
Considered advantages
- Knowledge of one or several statistical software (e.g. R, Matlab, Eviews, Stata)
- Enrolment in a PhD programme
Internship-related tasks will depend on the intern’s level of experience, education and will be assigned and discussed at the start of the programme.
How to apply
In order to apply, please send your application (in English) by email to tl.bl@sbojrefec with the following attachments:
- CV
- Motivational letter
- Academic statement/record of courses you have passed and your average grade.
- Please provide the contacts of a university professor/course instructor willing to give their recommendation regarding your internship.
- Area or topic you wish to concentrate on during the internship, with a detailed description and a short description of research papers (including term papers, Bachelor’s or Master’s thesis), should you have already written any.
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis and usually last for up to two months.
Other activities
Awards
In order to encourage high-quality research in Lithuania, CEFER and the Bank of Lithuania grant two awards annually for scientific activities: the Vladas Jurgutis Award (EUR 10 thousand) and the Bank of Lithuania Award for Dissertation in the Field of Economics (EUR 5 thousand).
- The Vladas Jurgutis Award pays tribute to Prof. Vladas Jurgutis, the first Governor of the Bank of Lithuania, and his merits to banking in Lithuania. The Award is granted for significant scientific research works of Lithuanian economists or foreign economists linked with Lithuanian education institutions carried out within the last five years – published scientific papers, monographs or books. Priority is given to the following subjects: activities of the central bank, monetary policy, macroprudential policy, payments and settlements, investment and other subjects related to the activities of the Bank of Lithuania.
- The Bank of Lithuania Award for Dissertation in the Field of Economics is granted to honour the authors of the best dissertations in economics or related fields, defended over the last two years until August 1 of the current year. Priority is given to the following subjects: activities of the central bank, monetary policy, macroprudential policy, payments and settlements, investment, etc.
For more information on past awards and details on how to apply, click here.
Editorial activities
CEFER researchers are involved in editing and refereeing peer-reviewed academic journals such as the Baltic Economic Journal.
Networks
CEFER is part of NERO, a network of National Economic Research Organisations.
Partners
CEFER is proud to have the following partners:
- Vilnius University
- Kaunas University of Technology
- European Centre for Career Education
- Government Strategic Analysis Center
- Independent Fiscal Institution
- Baltic Economic Association
- National Student Academy
[[#ex]]
- Performs independent checks and assessments of the effectiveness and efficiency of Bank of Lithuania governance, risk management and control processes
- Consults the Board and structural units of the Bank of Lithuania
- Monitors implementation of audit recommendations
- Participates in audits carried out on ESCB/Eurosystem level
Jordana Gomarienė, Head of the Internal Audit Division
We implement the Bank of Lithuania internal audit policy, thus contributing to achievement of our organisation’s objectives, as well as efficient and effective operations. Internal audit is a management tool for assessing adequacy and suitability of risk management and supervision, and supporting their further development.
Internal audit is carried out in accordance with the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing of the Institute of Internal Auditors (USA) and is based on principles of objectivity, independence, proficiency, confidentiality and honesty.
We are authorised to perform independent analysis and assessments of governance, risk management and control processes. Internal audit is independent from the activities assessed and does not substitute control and risk management carried out by managers of all levels.
Auditors always take into account issues related to optimal institutional structure, assignment of duties and functions, effective usage of funds and assets, quality of public services and approach towards Bank of Lithuania customers. We also focus on IT security and its efficient use, compliance with ethical standards and institutional values.
Audits are carried out pursuant to our division’s annual action plan, approved by the Chair of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania. Audits planned by the Internal Auditors Committee (46.4 KB download icon) of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), carried out on ESCB level, are also included in the plan. Representatives of our division take part in ESCB internal auditor exchange programmes: they visit other central banks or welcome their auditors at the Bank of Lithuania.
We inform our immediate superior – the Chair of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania and the Board – of audit results, major risks identified, compliance with audit recommendations and implementation of the Bank of Lithuania internal audit policy.
In addition to auditing, we provide consultations by request of the Board and units of the Bank of Lithuania – we assess ongoing projects, operational compliance with legal acts, process efficiency and potential risks.
In cooperating with internal auditors from other Lithuanian organisations and central banks, we share good practices in internal auditing.
We aim to be seen as experts in our field, contributing to positive changes that add to the good of both the organisation and the public.