Governments and markets after the crisis: Finding a new balance.

The global financial crisis and its fall-out reignite the debate about the role for governments and markets. The systemic failure in financial markets has shattered fundamental beliefs in the ability of markets to deliver macro-economic stability and growth, while prompting government intervention at an unprecedented scale. Maintaining open markets, sustaining economic and financial stability, and ensuring socially inclusive societies in the post-crisis world calls for new approaches to the governance of markets between the extremes of free-market fundamentalism and government interventionism. The conference will explore such new set-ups in areas such as the architecture of financial systems, international trade and exchange rate regimes, intra-EU adjustment mechanisms, and the design of modern welfare state arrangements.

At this year's conference eminent scholars and top economic policy makers discussed the following lead questions:

• Where do we stand with fair and measured regulatory reform to strengthen the global financial system? How to reduce the risks posed to taxpayers and to broader social objectives
• What is the respective role of markets and government to rebalance the world economy? What can improved co-ordination and better governance at the supra-national level achieve?
• How to prevent intra-EU capital flows to nurture instabilities? Do we need fiscal mechanisms beyond the Stability and Growth Pact?
• How to restore the sustainability of public finances without running into persistently high unemployment? Do high levels of public debt impair growth prospects?
• How to match efficiency with fairness in modern welfare systems when public coffers are empty? What are the limits of market-driven growth to combat inequality, poverty and social exclusion?

 Video

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Conference documents - Copyright rests with the authors
Programme	Programme [490 KB]
Full list of speakers	Speakers [42 KB]
Commissioner Olli Rehn	Keynote opening address [74 KB]
J. Elmeskov (OECD)	Setting the stage: The global economic outlook [2 MB]
Session I: Realigning risks, rewards and responsibilities: the re-design of the financial sector Chair: S. Berrigan (DG ECFIN)
B. White (OECD)	The Future of the Financial System: Problems and Possible solutions [872 KB]
X. Freixas (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)	Post Crisis Regulatory challenges [22 KB]
Dirk Schoenmaker (Duisenberg school of finance) (discussant)	Re-design of the financial sector: Comments on White and Freixas [358 KB]
N. Veron (Bruegel) (discussant)	Discussion of William White & Xavier Freixas ‘‘The re-design of the financial sector’’ [307 KB]
Session II: Tackling economic imbalances: Global issues Chair: P. Bekx (DG ECFIN) (DG ECFIN)
H. Rey (London School of Economics)	Imbalances and the International Monetary System [478 KB]
G.M. Milesi-Ferretti (IMF)	Global Rebalancing [772 KB]
J. Pisani-Ferry (Bruegel) (discussant)
Ph. Lane (Trinity College) (discussant)
Session III: Tackling economic imbalances: European issues Chair: J. Kroeger (DG ECFIN)
B. Eichengreen (Berkeley University)	Imbalances in the Euro Area [171 KB]
J. von Hagen (University of Bonn)	Macroeconomic Imbalances in the Euro Area [2 MB]
A. Sapir (ULB) (discussant)	Imbalances in the Euro Area [200 KB]
Th. Mayer (Deutsche Bank Research) (discussant)	Discussion [71 KB]
Session IV: Restoring sustainable public finances after the crisis: Gains and pains ahead Chair: M. Mors (DG ECFIN)
A. Alesina (Harvard University)	The political consequences of large fiscal adjustments [493 KB]
V. Tanzi (Honorary President, IIPF)	The Return to Fiscal Rectitude After the Recent Departure [53 KB]
P. Bofinger (Univ. Wuerzburg) (discussant)	The market is dead - long live the market! [516 KB]
P. van den Noord (OECD) (discussant)	Restoring sustainable public finances after the crisis: what can we learn from Alesina and Tanzi [197 KB]
Session V: Matching efficiency with fairness: Labour market and distributional issues Chair: K. Pichelmann (DG ECFIN)
T. Piketty (Paris School of Economics)	Wealth, inequality & assets: where is Europe heading? [6 MB]
T. Andersen (Aarhus University)	Collective risk sharing: the social safety net and employment [447 KB]
R. Torres (ILO) (discussant)	Efficiency with fairness: how far can policies go? [325 KB]
A. Watt (ETUI) (discussant)	Matching efficiency with fairness: Labour market and distributional issues [259 KB]
Concluding panel session: Finding a new balance between governments and markets for broad-based sustainable growth: What can be done at the Community level? Chair: M. Buti (DG ECFIN)
Lead interventions: V. Gaspar, H. Rey, V. Tanzi, P. Bofinger, and T. Andersen	Introductory remarks at the concluding policy panel [87 KB] - Vítor Gaspar

 

Further information
Further information about this event can be obtained from the Chair of the Programme Committee:

Karl Pichelmann
Senior Adviser
DG Economic and Financial Affairs
European Commission
European Commission
Office: BU-1 05/184
B-1049 Brussels, Belgium