Conference “Trade, value chains and financial linkages in the global economy” 2026 – Call for papers

This fifth edition of the conference brings together leading scholars from academia and policy institutions to discuss recent developments in international trade, global production networks and financial linkages, as well as their macroeconomic implications.

Papers presented at the 4th edition of the conference in December 2025

Against the backdrop of major shifts in trade policy, geopolitical disruptions affecting trade routes and energy markets, and the rapid development of artificial intelligence, the conference will focus, inter alia, on: trade and industrial policies and their effects; the reconfiguration of global production networks and access to critical supplies; firm-to-firm linkages, multinational enterprises and firms' resilience and competitive strategies; trade finance and other trade–financial linkages; digital trade, services, international data flows and AI; and the causes and consequences of global imbalances.

The keynote lectures will be delivered by Felix Tintelnot (Duke University) and Paola Conconi (University of Oxford).

Topics

We invite empirical, methodological and theoretical contributions, with emphasis on the following policy-relevant topics:

• Trade and industrial policies and their effects (e.g. tariffs and NTMs, industrial policies, export controls, firms’ strategic responses, price pass-through and demand elasticities)
• Global production networks and critical supplies (e.g. GVC reconfiguration, firm-to-firm linkages, MNEs, critical materials, chokepoints and ports, firms’ resilience and competitive strategies)
• Trade finance and other trade–financial linkages (e.g. trade and supply-chain finance, cross-border payments, capital flows and FDI)
• Digital trade, services, data and AI (e.g. international data flows, data governance, services tradability, AI-related trade and measurement issues)
• Global imbalances: causes and effects (e.g. current accounts, external positions, exchange rates and non-market policies)

Papers examining recent trade-policy shifts, geopolitical disruptions to major trade routes and energy markets, and the implications of artificial intelligence for goods and services trade are especially welcome.

Submissions

Only completed papers submitted to trade.workshop@bancaditalia.it by the deadline of 11 September 2026, will be considered. Acceptance decisions will be notified no later than 21 September 2026. 

Travel and accommodation

A limited number of travel or accommodation grants may be available; priority will be given to early-career researchers.

Scientific committee

Maria Grazia Attinasi (European Central Bank), Alessandro Borin (Banca d’Italia), Claire Giordano (Banca d’Italia), Michele Mancini (Banca d’Italia) and Daria Taglioni (The World Bank)

Organising committee

Alessandro Borin, Claire Giordano, Debora Grando, Michele Mancini and Giovanna Poggi, all Banca d’Italia