Conference report: Macroeconomic Cooperation and the International Monetary System

Watch the Full video of the public panel   Introduction While the International Financial Institutions […]

11/11/2013

Watch the Full video of the public panel

 

Introduction

While the International Financial Institutions came together in Washington for their annual meetings in early October the Foundation of European Progressive Studies (FEPS) in cooperation with the Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD) and with the support of the Ford Foundation and the Center for American Progress (CAP) brought world-leading economists together to ‘Macroeconomic Cooperation and the International Monetary System’.

The timing could have not been better and the issues not more pressing. Five years after the Global Financial Crisis the world economy is still struggling to return to sustainable growth. This latest crisis has renewed interest on the need and the importance to reform the global financial and monetary architecture. International policy coordination, debt crisis management, participation in global economic governance, and the choice of means of payments in cross-border transactions are increasingly seen as crucial issues to create a global economic environment where global stability and growth take centre stage.

Conference Background

On October 8th 2013 FEPS in collaboration with the Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD) at Columbia University, and with the support of the Ford Foundation and the Center for American Progress (CAP) organised a conference on Macroeconomic Cooperation and the International Monetary System. The conference addressed three fundamental issues:

  1. Global macro-economic cooperation;
  2. How to reform the international monetary systems to contribute to world economic growth;
  3. European macro-economic governance.

The objective of the conference was to discuss the role and challenges of macro-economic cooperation in a world of independent monetary and fiscal policies.

The conference started with a welcome dinner discussing the role of macro-economic cooperation in restoring growth a US perspective. Joseph Stiglitz, Co-President of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Jason Furman, Chair Council of Economic Advisers in the US, and Massimo D’Alema, President of FEPS and former Prime Minister of Italy provided food for thought.

The conference had three high-level panels and a public debate. The first panel focused on Global macro-economic cooperation. This panel was introduced by Homi Kharas, Senior Fellow of Brookings Institution. Speakers included: Joseph Stiglitz, Co-President of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Olivier Blanchard, Chief Economist, International Monetary Fund, Amar Bhattacharya, Director, G24 Secretariat, and Adam Posen, President, Peterson Institute of International Economics

The second panel concentrated on how to reform the international monetary system to contribute to world economic growth. The panel was introduced by John Williamson, Senior Fellow at Peterson Institute for International Economics. Speakers included: Anton Korinek, Assistant Professor of Economics, Johns Hopkins University, Jose Antonio Ocampo, Co-President, Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Eswar Prasad, Senior Professor of Trade Policy, Cornell University, Heidemarie Wieczorek- Zeul, member of the Bundestag and former Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany.

The third panel discussed European macro-economic governance. The panel was chaired by Ernst Stetter, Secretary General of FEPS. Speakers included Malcolm Sawyer, Emeritus Professor of Economics, Leeds University Business School, Paolo Guerrieri, Professor of Economics, University of Rome, Stephany Griffith-Jones, Financial Markets Programme Director, Initiative for Policy Dialogue, and Marcus Miller, Professor of Economics, University of Warwick, UK.

The day was closed by a public panel chaired by Professor Stephany Griffith-Jones. Guest speakers included: Joseph Stiglitz, Co-President of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Adam Posen, President, Peterson Institute of International Economics, Jose Antonio Ocampo, Co-President of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, and Massimo D’Alema, President of FEPS and former Prime Minister of Italy

Full video of the public panel can be found online:

https://www.americanprogress.org/events/2013/09/30/75631/macroeconomic-cooperation-and-the- international-monetary-system/

 

 

 

Network
Initiative for Policy Dialogue
Find all related publications
Publications
28/11/2025

Smarter spending today, safer societies tomorrow

Digitally-enabled capabilities for European defence
28/11/2025

More money, more dependence?

Financing European Union defence for autonomy and cooperation
28/11/2025

ReArm Europe

The impact and role of EU arms export controls
18/11/2025

Public investment in the proposed 2028-2034 EU budget

Needs, gaps and options
Find all related news
News
04/12/2025

It is high time that the goal is set on “Quality”

FEPS commentary on the Quality Jobs Roadmap
27/11/2025

Is a bad COP outcome better than no outcome at all?

FEPS Commentary on COP30
27/11/2025

FEPS President Maria João Rodrigues at the T20 South Africa Summit in Johannesburg

Organised by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), the Institute for Global Dialogue […]
21/10/2025

Maria João Rodrigues at PES Congress 2025

🇳🇱 🌹 FEPS attended the Party of European Socialists (PES) Congress in Amsterdam, which included […]
Find all related in the media
In the media

« La souveraineté numérique européenne est un défi d’ordre civilisationnel »

by Le Monde 15/11/2025
"European digital sovereignty is a challenge for civilisation as a whole". In an opinion piece in the newspaper Le Monde, FEPS President Maria João Rodrigues shares her concerns about European digital dependence on American and Asian giants

When Algorithms Undermine Democracy: Europe’s Wake-Up Call

by Social Europe 11/11/2025
Maja Fjaestad and Simon Vinge, co-editors of FEPS book "Algorithmic rule", wrote this op-ed on the power of algorithms and how they threaten the foundations of democratic oversight

Los mapas de las fronteras internas que alimentan el voto ultra en Europa

by El Confidencial 13/10/2025
"The internal border maps that fuel the far-right vote in Europe" - FEPS Secretary-General László Andor discusses the impact of cohesion policies on social inequalities and the rise of the far-right across Europe in this El Confidencial article.

Migranti: Amato a FEPS — “Socialisti e populisti fomentano ossessione”

by Avanti! 29/09/2025
“Migrants: Amato to FEPS — ‘Socialists and populists fuel obsession’” News article in Avanti! where Hedwig Giusto, FEPS Head of International Affairs, critiques how both populist and some socialist political forces are stoking fear around migration. Giusto calls for balanced migration policies that respect human rights, reinforce solidarity among member states, and reject securitarian obsessions.