LEADING ECONOMISTS AND POLICYMAKERS TO DISCUSS ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY, FINANCIAL REFORM, JOBS, AND GROWTH AT THE LEVY ECONOMICS INSTITUTE’S 23rd ANNUAL HYMAN P. MINSKY CONFERENCE, IN WASHINGTON, D.C., APRIL 9–10

leviWASHINGTON, D.C.— From April 9 to 10, the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College will gather top policymakers, economists, and analysts at the 23rd Annual Hyman P. Minsky Conference on the State of the U.S. and World Economies to discuss the progress of the recovery from the global financial crisis and address both financial reform and prosperity, drawing from Minsky’s work on financial instability and his proposal for achieving full employment. The conference, Stabilizing Financial Systems for Growth and Full Employment, is being organized by the Levy Institute with support from the Ford Foundation, and will take place Wednesday and Thursday, April 9–10, at the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, in Washington, D.C.

Participants include Jason Furman, chairman, Council of Economic Advisers, Executive Office of the President; Daniel K. Tarullo, member, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Charles L. Evans, president and chief executive officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; Vítor Constâncio, vice president, European Central Bank; Peter Praet, executive board member, European Central Bank; U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH); U.S. Representative Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY, 12); Richard Berner, director, Office of Financial Research, U.S. Department of the Treasury; Willem H. Buiter, global chief economist, Citi; Bruce Kasman, chief economist and managing director of global research, J. P. Morgan; Anat Admati, professor of finance and economics, Stanford University; Denis MacShane, European Policy Counsel, and former U.K. minister for Europe; Mercedes Marco Del Pont, former president, Central Bank of Argentina; Frank N. Newman, chairman, Promontory Financial Group China, and former deputy secretary, U.S. Department of the Treasury; Tom Redburn, economics editor, The New York Times; Jon E. Hilsenrath, chief economics correspondent, The Wall Street Journal; Binyamin Appelbaum, business and economics reporter, The New York Times; Deborah Solomon, news editor, The Wall Street Journal; and James Politi, U.S. economics and trade correspondent, Financial Times.

The conference will address, among other issues, the progress made toward reforming the financial structure; whether a monetary system can be built to last; fiscal policy in a continuing “jobless recovery” environment; budget deficits and debt; policies aimed at achieving sustainable growth and full employment; the relationship between economic stability and inequality; the impact of globalization on monetary policy; and the creation of global governance structures.

The conference will include presentations by Jan Kregel, senior scholar, Levy Institute, and professor, Tallinn University of Technology; Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, president, Levy Institute; Robert Barbera, co-director, Center for Financial Economics, The Johns Hopkins University; Michael Greenberger, professor, School of Law, and director, Center for Health and Homeland Security, The University of Maryland; Andrew Sheng, president, Fung Global Institute; Frank Veneroso, president, Veneroso Associates, LLC; L. Randall Wray, senior scholar, Levy Institute, and professor, University of Missouri–Kansas City; Alex J. Pollock, resident fellow, American Enterprise Institute; and Heiner Flassbeck, director, Division on Globalization and Development Strategies, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, founded in 1986 through the generous support of the late Bard College trustee Leon Levy, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public policy research organization. The Institute is independent of any political or other affiliation, and encourages diversity of opinion in the examination of economic policy issues while striving to transform ideological arguments into informed debate.

The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

Preliminary conference program:

23rd Annual Hyman P. Minsky Conference on the State of the U.S. and World Economies
Stabilizing Financial Systems for Growth and Full Employment

Wednesday, April 9

8:00-8:30 a.m. Breakfast and Registration
8:30-8:45 a.m. Welcome and Introduction
Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, President, Levy Institute
8:45-9:45 a.m. SPEAKER: Carolyn B. Maloney, U.S. Representative (D-NY, 12)
9:45-11:45 a.m. Session 1. FINANCIAL REREGULATION TO SUPPORT GROWTH AND EMPLOYMENT
MODERATOR: Deborah Solomon, News Editor, The Wall Street Journal
SPEAKERS: Michael Greenberger, Professor, School of Law, and Director, Center for Health and Homeland Security, The University of Maryland
Mercedes Marco Del Pont, formerly, President, Central Bank of Argentina
Alex J. Pollock, Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Andrew Sheng, President, Fung Global Institute
11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch
SPEAKER: Sherrod Brown, U.S. Senator (D-OH)
1:30-3:15 p.m. Session 2. FINANCIAL REGULATION AND ECONOMIC STABILITY: WAS DODD-FRANK ENOUGH, OR TOO MUCH?
MODERATOR: Binyamin Appelbaum, Business and Economics Reporter, The New York Times
SPEAKERS: Anat Admati, Professor of Finance and Economics, Stanford University
Richard Berner, Director, Office of Financial Research, U.S. Department of the Treasury
Jan Kregel, Senior Scholar, Levy Institute, and Professor, Tallinn University of Technology
3:15-3:30 p.m. Coffee Break
3:30-4:15 p.m. SPEAKER: Charles L. Evans, President and Chief Executive Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
4:15-6:00 p.m. Session 3. THE GLOBAL GROWTH AND EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK: CLOUDY WITH A RISK OF . . . ?
MODERATOR: James Politi, U.S. Economics and Trade Correspondent, Financial Times
SPEAKERS: Willem H. Buiter, Global Chief Economist, Citi

Bruce Kasman, Chief Economist and Managing Director of Global Research, J. P. Morgan
Frank Veneroso, President, Veneroso Associates, LLC

6:00 p.m. Reception
7:00 p.m. Dinner
SPEAKER: Daniel K. Tarullo, Member, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Thursday, April 10

8:30-9:00 a.m. Breakfast
9:00-10:00 a.m. SPEAKER: Peter Praet, Executive Board Member, European Central Bank
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Session 4. THE EURO AND EUROPEAN GROWTH AND EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS
MODERATOR: Tom Redburn, Economics Editor, The New York Times
SPEAKERS: Heiner Flassbeck, Director, Division on Globalization and Development Strategies, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
Denis MacShane, European Policy Counsel; former U.K. Minister for Europe
Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, President, Levy Institute
12:00-2:00 p.m. Lunch
SPEAKER: Jason Furman, Chairman, Council of Economic Advisers, Executive Office of the President
2:00-3:00 p.m. SPEAKER: Vítor Constâncio, Vice President, European Central Bank
3:00-3:15 p.m. Coffee Break
3:15-5:00 p.m. Session 5. WHAT ARE THE MONETARY CONSTRAINTS TO SUSTAINABLE RECOVERY OF EMPLOYMENT?
MODERATOR: Jon E. Hilsenrath, Chief Economics Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal
SPEAKERS: Robert Barbera, Co-director, Center for Financial Economics, The Johns Hopkins University
Frank N. Newman, Chairman, Promontory Financial Group China; formerly, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of the Treasury
L. Randall Wray, Senior Scholar, Levy Institute, and Professor, University of Missouri–Kansas City.