2024-10-01
In mid-September, Lietuvos bankas, Narodowy Bank Polski and the Central Bank Research Association (CEBRA) organised the 5th Research Conference on “Macroeconomic adjustments after large global shocks” in Vilnius. The conference is held once every four years in Lithuania, and its topic is selected based on the latest economic issues in the fields of international trade, economic policy and macroeconomic sciences.
This year over 50 researchers from Lithuania, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, the UK and the US discussed the side effects of the global economy, the impact of trade sanctions on the sanctioning and sanctioned economies, the effects of global shocks, and the implementation of economic policies in a context of high uncertainty.
The event, which was praised by speakers and participants of the conference, contributed both to the strengthening of economic research activities in Lithuania and to the global visibility of Lietuvos bankas as a centre of excellence in the fields of economics and finance.
One of the main success factors of the event was the presence of world-class guest speakers, including Catherine L. Mann, Member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England. In her presentation, she focused the recent decision of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee and her personal decision not to change interest rates in order to wipe out inflationary risks and highlighted the increasing influence of global shocks on the UK’s open economy. The speech by an influential member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee in Vilnius received wide international media coverage and was cited by Reuters, the Financial Times, The Independent, City AM and others.
The presentation of Harvard University Professor Oleg Itskhoki, who in 2022 was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal given to the world’s best economists under the age of 40, commanded a lot of attention. The professor presented a model he developed by studying the puzzles of international finance, capable of simultaneously explaining as many as four empirical phenomena of international finance that have astonished scientists for several decades. The presentation by Barcelona School of Economics Research Professor Jaume Ventura on the dynamics of fixed costs, production and profits of companies was also actively discussed among the participants of the conference.
The conference presented research on international bank lending in geopolitically risky markets, the impact of sanctions on international trade, the effects of corporate networks on the spread of macroeconomic and technological shocks, the role of trade companies in managing international trade risks, price and global value chain shock effects, etc.
Slides of the presentations will soon be available on the event webpage.