Activities - Conferences

The Political Economy of Fiscal and Monetary Stability in the EMU

December 17-19, 1998

The conference was hosted by the Centre de Recerca en Economia Internacional (CREI), and cosponsored by the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), the European University Institute (EUI) and the European Commission Directorate General XII. The program was prepared by professors: Ramon Marimon (EUI, Florence and UPF, Barcelona), Albert Marcet (UPF, Barcelona), Giorgia Giovannetti (U. of Florence and EUI), Harald Uhlig (CeNTER, U. of Tilburg) and Philippe Weil (U. Libre de Bruxelles and CEPR).

The conference consisted of two and a half days of intense debate that ranged from current policy issues confronting EMU to theoretical issues regarding the foundation of fiscal and monetary policy design in EMU. Given such a scope and perspective, the contents of the conference remain relevant -possibly, even more- now that EMU is a few months old.

Additional information

Program

Program

Organizers:

Giorgia Giovannetti (Università di Firenze and European University Institute)
Albert Marcet (CREI, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, and CEPR)
Ramon Marimon (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, European University Institute, and CEPR)
Harald Uhlig (CentER, Tilburg University, and CEPR)
Philippe Weil (ECARE, Université Libre de Bruxelles, and CEPR)

THURSDAY 17 DECEMBER

17.00-17.20 Coffee

Welcome. Joaquim Triadu, Secretari General de la Presidència, Generalitat de Catalunya and Chairman of the Governing Council of CREI

Chair: Andreu Mas-Colell, director of CREI

Implementing Fiscal and Monetary Policies in the EMU

17.30–19.30 "Inflation Targeting and the European Central Bank: What Can be, Learnt from the UK Experience?"
Michael Artis (European University Institute and CEPR)

"Fiscal Discipline and Flexibility in EMU: The Implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact"
Marco Buti (European Commission), Daniele Franco (Banca d’Italia), Hedwig Ongena (European Commission)

Roundtable:

Daniel Gros (Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels)
Guillermo de la Dehesa (Goldman Sachs, Madrid, Banco Pastor and CEPR)
Jacques Melitz (INSEE, Paris, and CEPR)
Richard Portes (London Business School and CEPR)
David Vines (Institute of Economics & Statistics, Oxford, and CEPR)

FRIDAY 18 DECEMBER

EMU as a Non-Ricardian World

9.00–10.15 "Ricardian Equivalence and the Rationale of Fiscal Constraints in the European Monetary Union"
Carsten Detken (European Central Bank)

Discussant: Philippe Weil (ECARE, Université Libre de Bruxelles, and CEPR)

10.15–10.45 Coffee

10.45–13.15 "Fiscal Discipline and Exchange Rate Regimes"
Matthew B Canzoneri (Georgetown University, and CEPR), Robert E Cumby (Georgetown University), Behzad T Diba (Georgetown University)

Discussant: Roger Farmer (European University Institute and CEPR)

"Monetary Union, Asymmetric Productivity Shocks and Fiscal Insurance"
Kenneth Kletzer (University of California, Santa Cruz)

Discussant: Morten Ravn (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

13.15–14.15 Lunch

Conflicts of Interest Over Monetary Policy?

14.30-15.45 "The Taylor Rule: A Useful Monetary Guide for the ECB?"
Frank Smets (Bank for International Settlements and CEPR)

Discussant: Giorgia Giovannetti (Università di Firenze and European University Institute)

15.45–16.15 Coffee

16.15–18.45 "Decision Rules in the ECB and Monetary Stability"
Paul de Grauwe (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and CEPR), Hans Dewachter (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)

Discussant: Ramon Marimon (European University Institute, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona and CEPR)

"Should Central Bank Councils Convene Often?"
Sylvester Eijffinger (College of Europe, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and CentER Tilburg University), Harry Huizinga (CentER, Tilburg University, and CEPR)

Discussant: Albert Marcet (CREI, Universitat Pompeu Fabra and CEPR)

SATURDAY 19 DECEMBER

Commitment and Coordination in EMU Policies

9.00–10.15 "Free Riding in a Monetary Union"
V V Chari (University of Minnesota and the Federal Reserve Bank), Patrick Kehoe (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and University of Pennsylvania)

Discussant: Tryphon Kollintzas (Athens University of Economics and Business, IOBE, Athens, and CEPR)

10.15–10.45 Coffee

10.45–13.15 "The Optimality of a Monetary Union Without a Fiscal Union"
Roel M W J Beetsma (Ministry of Economic Affairs, The Hague, and CEPR), A Lans Bovenberg (CentER, Tilburg University, and CEPR)

Discussant: Hugo Rodriguez Mendizabal (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona)

"Bankers’ versus Workers’ Europe (I): Asymmetric Information in EMU"
Laura Bottazzi (IGIER, Università Bocconi, Milano, and CEPR), Paolo Manasse (Università Statale di Milano-Biocca, and IGIER, Università Bocconi, Milano)

Discussant: Pedro Teles (Banco de Portugal, Universidade Católica Portuguesa)

13.15–14.15 Lunch

Gains from EMU

14.30–17.00 "Asymmetric Shocks and Monetary Union"
Martine Carré (CREST-MAD, Université de Paris I), Fabrice Collard (CNRS-CEPREMAP, Université de Paris I)

Discussant: John Driffill (University of Southampton and CEPR)

"Establishing a Monetary Union"
Russell Cooper (Boston University), Hubert Kempf (Université Paris-I Panthéon-Sorbonne)

Discussant: Harald Uhlig (CentER, Tilburg University, and CEPR)

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