European Central Bank workshop

The Importance of the External Dimension for the Euro Area: Trade, Capital Flows, and International Macroeconomic Linkages
to be hosted by the ECB in Frankfurt am Main on 29-30 March 2004

The European Central Bank is requesting submissions of papers for a workshop on "The Importance of the External Dimension for the Euro Area: Trade, Capital Flows and International Macroeconomic Linkages". The aim of the workshop is to improve the ECB's understanding of how external developments affect the euro area economy, distinguishing the different channels of transmission. In this context, papers dealing with the roles of trade, capital flows and international macroeconomic linkages are particularly welcome.

The organisers seek to bring together central bankers, policymakers, and academics interested in the field.

The workshop will feature presentations by two keynote speakers, Prof. Richard Baldwin (Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Switzerland) and Prof. Andrew Rose (Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley).

The workshop, which will be jointly organised by the ECB's External Developments Division of the Directorate General Economics and the General Economic Research Division of the Directorate General Research, will take place at the ECB in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on 29-30 March 2004.

Topics

The submission of research papers in the following areas is encouraged:

1. Trade
   • Identification of the main determinants of the euro area's current account, possibly in the context of global current account imbalances.
   • Quantifying the possible impact of external shocks originating from trade developments on the euro area. In particular: have the mechanisms and magnitudes of the international transmission of shocks via the trade channel changed over time and how? What are the implications for monetary policy? What has been the impact of monetary union on the development and distribution of both intra- and extra-euro area trade?
2. Capital flows
   • Determinants of portfolio and foreign direct investment flows within the euro area and between the euro area and abroad. In particular: has monetary union played any role in the developments of these flows? Has the strong growth in portfolio and/or foreign direct investment flows affected the international transmission of shocks to the euro area?
   • What has been the role of multinationals in determining the economic links between the euro area and the rest of the world as well as the interactions between trade, FDI and output?
3. International macroeconomic linkages
   • In addition to trade and capital flows, are other international macroeconomic linkages also playing a role in transmitting external shocks to the euro area? For example, has the interdependence of monetary policy between the euro area and major external economies changed over time and in which direction?
   • Identifying and perhaps quantifying the possible transmission channels through which these other spillovers may play a role.
   • Can an overall measure of the exposure of the euro area to external shocks be derived? Would a measure which captures the impacts of trade, capital flows and international macroeconomic linkages show quantitative differences over time and across the individual euro area countries?

Selected papers will have a discussant and will be posted on the website of the ECB.

Expenses

Expenses for travel (economy-class round trip) and accommodation will be covered for academic speakers.

Submission information

Research papers (MS Word or pdf versions only) should be e-mailed to agata.stawinska@ecb.int by 31 January 2004. Acceptance decisions will be communicated by the end of February 2004. back to top