EconPol Annual Conference 2021
The State of Fiscal Resilience – How Prepared is Europe for Future Crises?
-
Online Event
The European Union’s recovery plan has been adopted in response to the coronavirus crisis. It is a game changer in terms of European economic policy integration: NextGenerationEU is larger than any other stimulus package passed by the EU in previous crises. Together with the EU’s long-term budget a total of EUR 1.8 trillion will be spent to boost and modernize Europe’s economy with major priorities set in the areas of digitalization and climate change. The recovery package will also be financed by commonly issued debt. Finding the right balance between expansionary fiscal policy and budgetary discipline will be a key challenge in the upcoming years.
While the European recovery fund sets new precedents, it is only a temporary instrument. What lessons can the EU take away? Is Europe’s fiscal framework prepared for other future crises? This question will be at the heart of our EconPol Europe Annual Conference 2021 which – for the fifth time – will bring together our expert network members from across Europe with politicians, policymakers, and researchers. Due to the uncertain development of the Covid-19 pandemic the conference will be conducted online.
Day one of the conference will open with a keynote address by Olivier Blanchard (Peterson Institute for International Economics). Our topic in the following panel discussion is “Fiscal Policy for the Post-Covid Era – US vs. EU". Our panelists will shed light on different policy answers to the coronavirus crisis. While the EU’s fiscal policy response is unprecedented, the US has been implementing a much larger fiscal stimulus package. Should the EU have stepped up its fiscal response? Or does the US’s expansive relief package bear higher risks, such as hyperinflation? Another key question concerns whether the money allocated to EU member states will be spent efficiently to finance growth-enhancing reforms. Panelists confirmed so far are Debora Revoltella (European Investment Bank), Claudia Sahm (Jain Family Institute), and Maarten Verwey (European Commission).
Following the panel debate Daniel Gros will give a keynote speech. You can view a livestream of these program items at https://www.econpol.eu/live
Day one will conclude with a plenary session on Governance and Macroeconomic Policy in the European Monetary Union with contributions from Alexandre Ounnas, Beau Soederhuizen, and Klaus Weyerstrass.
Day two of our conference will have an academic focus. We will host several conference sessions where researchers from the EconPol Europe network will present their latest research and discuss it with experts from national and European institutions and the private sector. Topics include Attitudes Towards Public Policies, International Taxation, and Public Policies for a Green Transition.
