Conference

Minsky Conference in Greece

The Eurozone Crisis, Greece, and the Experience of Austerity

Audio:

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Organized by the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College with support from the Ford Foundation

November 8–9, 2013
Megaron Athens International Conference Centre

A conference organized as part of the Levy Institute’s international research agenda and in conjunction with the Ford Foundation Project on Financial Instability, which draws on Hyman Minsky's extensive work on the structure of financial systems to ensure stability and the role of government in achieving a growing and equitable economy.

For video, click here.

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Program

Friday, November 8

8:00−9:15 a.m. Registration
9:15−9:30 a.m. Welcome and Introduction
Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, President, Levy Institute
Remarks in PDF
9:30−11:00 a.m. Session 1. Europe at the Crossroads: The End of Muddle-through
MODERATOR: Liz Alderman, European Economics, Business, and Finance Reporter, The New York Times
SPEAKERS: Philippe Gudin de Vallerin, Managing Director and Chief European Economist, Barclays
“The Outlook for the Resolution of the Euro Crisis”
Abstract in PDF
Ebrahim Rahbari, Director, European and Global Economics, Citigroup
“Why Europe Needs Debt Reduction”
Presentation in PDF
Frank Veneroso, President, Veneroso Associates, LLC
“Europe, Recovery or Relapse: Will Debt Determine?”
Presentation in PDF
11:00 a.m. − 12:00 p.m. KEYNOTE: Már Guðmundsson, Governor, Central Bank of Iceland
“Iceland’s Crisis and Recovery: Are There Lessons for the Eurozone and Its Member Countries?”
Presentation in PDF
12:00−1:30 p.m. Lunch Break
1:30−3:15 p.m. Session 2. Will the Periphery Survive in the Euro?
MODERATOR: Yannis Aggelis, Senior Editor, Kefalaio; Editor, Capital.gr
SPEAKERS: Rainer Kattel, Professor and Chair, Innovation Policy and Technology Governance, Tallinn University of Technology
“Baltic Austerity—The New False Hope”
Presentation in PDF
Link to presentation in Prezi
Jan Kregel, Senior Scholar, Levy Institute; Professor, Tallinn University of Technology
“Minsky Meets the Mediterranean”
Presentation in PDF
Elias Kikilias, Research Director, National Centre for Social Research, Greece
“Greece Is Not a Special Case: Eurozone Architecture, the Collapse of Periphery Countries, and Policy Choices”
Presentation in PDF (in Greek)
L. Randall Wray, Senior Scholar, Levy Institute; Professor, University of Missouri–Kansas City
“The Fatal Flaw in the Design of the Euro”
Presentation in PDF
3:15−3:45 p.m. Coffee Break
3:45−4:00 p.m. Alexis Tsipras, Leader of the Opposition (SYRIZA), Hellenic Parliament
4:00−5:00 p.m. KEYNOTE: Yves Mersch, Member, Executive Board and General Council, European Central Bank
“Intergenerational Justice in Times of Sovereign Debt Crises”
Link to Remarks
5:00−7:00 p.m. Session 3. The Financial System in the Eurozone and Greece: Dysfunctional or Built to Last?
MODERATOR: Matina Stevis, European Economics Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal
SPEAKERS: Gerasimos Arsenis, President, ADGI–INERPOST
“The Role of the Banking Sector in the Greek Crisis”
Abstract in PDF
Emilios Avgouleas, Chair, International Banking Law and Finance, School of Law, University of Edinburgh
“Beyond the Banking Union: The Possible and Desirable Role of the ECB in Resolving the Eurozone Banking Crisis”
Presentation in PDF
Dimitri Vayanos, Professor of Finance and Director, Paul Woolley Centre for the Study of Capital Market Dysfunctionality, London School of Economics
“Greece's Credit Cycle—Implications for Regulation and Policy”
Presentation in PDF
George S. Zavvos, Legal Adviser, Legal Service, European Commission; former Member of the European Parliament and European Commission Ambassador
“Toward a European Banking Union: Implications for the Greek Banking System”
Remarks in PDF

Saturday, November 9

9:00−10:30 a.m. Session 4. A Union of Austerity or a Union of Growth?
MODERATOR: Michalis Panagiotakis, Journalist, Avgi
SPEAKERS: Robert W. Parenteau, Research Associate, Levy Institute; Sole Proprietor, MacroStrategy Edge
“The Austerity Trap”
Presentation in PDF
Jörg Bibow, Research Associate, Levy Institute; Professor, Skidmore College
“Lost at Sea: The Euro Needs a Euro Treasury”
Presentation in PDF
10:30 a.m. − 12:30 p.m. Session 5. The Challenge of Unemployment: Can Current Policies Work?
MODERATOR: Christina Kopsini, Editor, Labor Market and Employment Issues, Kathimerini
SPEAKERS: László Andor, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
Duncan Campbell, Director, Policy Planning in Employment, International Labour Organization
“Does Wage-led Growth Mean Anything?”
Presentation in PDF
Massimiliano La Marca, Economist, International Labour Organization
“Greece: a structural analysis of macroeconomic prospects”
Presentation in PDF
Rania Antonopoulos, Senior Scholar, Levy Institute
“Responding to the Unemployment Crisis in Greece: A Modest ‘Employer of Last Resort’ Proposal”
Presentation in PDF
Maria Karamessini, Professor, Panteion University
“Employment Policy and the Greek Crisis: A Tool for Managing Social Destruction or an Element of an Alternative Exit Strategy?”
Presentation in PDF
12:30−1:30 p.m. Lunch Break
1:30−3:30 p.m. Session 6. Growth, Jobs, and Well-being in Greece and Europe
MODERATOR: Nikos Xydakis, Editor, Kathimerini
SPEAKERS: Terrence McDonough, Professor of Economics, National University of Ireland, Galway
“Ireland: Are Some PIGS More Equal than Others?”
Presentation in PDF
Louka Katseli, President, Social Pact Party, Greece; Professor of Economics, University of Athens
“From Austerity to Prosperity: The Challenges Ahead”
Presentation in PDF
C. J. Polychroniou, Research Associate and Policy Fellow, Levy Institute
“The Economics of Social Disaster: A Greek Tragedy”
Abstract in PDF
David Stuckler, Senior Research Leader in Sociology, Oxford University
“The Body Economic: Why Austerity Kills”
Presentation in PDF
3:30−4:30 p.m. KEYNOTE: Lord Robert Skidelsky, Emeritus Professor of Political Economy, University of Warwick
“The Experience of Austerity: The UK”
Presentation in PDF
4:30−5:00 p.m. Coffee Break
5:00−6:30 p.m. Session 7. The Greek Experience of Austerity
MODERATOR: Stavros Lygeros, Author, and Editor, Real News and Real FM Radio
SPEAKERS: Giorgos Argitis, Research Associate, Levy Institute; Professor, University of Athens
“The Troika’s Failed Policy Paradigm: The Case of Greece”
Presentation in PDF
Gennaro Zezza, Research Scholar, Levy Institute; Professor, University of Cassino, Italy
“A Levy Institute Model for Greece (LIMG)”
Presentation in PDF
Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, President, Levy Institute
“Prospects and Policies for the Greek Economy”
Presentation in PDF
6:30−8:00 p.m. Session 8. Rethinking Europe’s Future
MODERATOR: Alexis Papahelas, Executive Editor, Kathimerini
SPEAKERS: Kerstin Bernoth, Scientific Adviser to the Board, DIW Berlin; Professor of Economics, Hertie School of Governance
“A Transfer Mechanism as a Stabilization Tool in the EMU”
Presentation in PDF
Martin Hellwig, Director, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods
“Governments, Banks, and the Central Bank in the Eurozone Crisis”
Presentation in PDF
Loukas Tsoukalis, Professor, University of Athens; Visiting Professor, King’s College, London; President, ELIAMEP
“Is Muddling Through the Way Forward?”
Yannis Dragasakis, MP (SYRIZA) and Fourth Vice President of the Hellenic Parliament
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Participants

Yannis Aggelis
Senior Editor, Kefalaio; Editor, Capital.gr

Liz Alderman
European Economics, Business, and Finance Reporter, The New York Times

László Andor
Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission

Rania Antonopoulos
Senior Scholar, Levy Institute

Giorgos Argitis
Research Associate, Levy Institute; Professor, University of Athens

Gerasimos Arsenis
President, ADGI–INERPOST

Emilios Avgouleas
Chair, International Banking Law and Finance, School of Law, University of Edinburgh

Kerstin Bernoth
Scientific Adviser to the Board, DIW Berlin; Professor of Economics, Hertie School of Governance

Jörg Bibow
Research Associate, Levy Institute; Professor, Skidmore College

Duncan Campbell
Director, Policy Planning in Employment, International Labour Organization

Yannis Dragasakis
MP (SYRIZA) and Fourth Vice President of the Greek Parliament

Philippe Gudin de Vallerin
Managing Director and Chief European Economist, Barclays

Már Guðmundsson
Governor, Central Bank of Iceland

Martin Hellwig
Director, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods

Maria Karamessini
Professor, Panteion University, Athens

Louka Katseli
Professor of Economics, University of Athens; President, Social Pact Party, Greece

Rainer Kattel
Professor and Director, Department of Public Administration, Tallinn University of Technology

Elias Kikilias
Research Director, National Centre for Social Research, Greece

Christina Kopsini
Editor, Labor Market and Employment Issues, Kathimerini (Athens)

Jan Kregel
Senior Scholar, Levy Institute; Professor, Tallinn University of Technology

Massimiliano La Marca
Economist, International Labour Organization

Stavros Lygeros
Author, and Editor, Real News and Real FM Radio

Terrence McDonough
J. E. Cairnes Graduate School of Business and Public Policy, National University of Ireland, Galway

Yves Mersch
Member, Executive Board and General Council, European Central Bank

Michalis Panagiotakis
Journalist, Avgi

Dimitri B. Papadimitriou
President, Levy Institute

Alexis Papahelas
Executive Editor, Kathimerini (Athens)

Robert W. Parenteau
Research Associate, Levy Institute; Sole Proprietor, MacroStrategy Edge

C. J. Polychroniou
Research Associate and Policy Fellow, Levy Institute

Ebrahim Rahbari
Director, European and Global Economics, Citigroup

Lord Robert Skidelsky
Emeritus Professor of Political Economy, University of Warwick

Matina Stevis
European Economics Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal

David Stuckler
Senior Research Leader in Sociology, Oxford University

Alexis Tsipras
Leader of the Opposition (SYRIZA), Hellenic Parliament

Loukas Tsoukalis
Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration, University of Athens; Visiting Professor, College of Europe; President, Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy

Dimitri Vayanos
Professor of Finance and Director, Paul Woolley Centre for the Study of Capital Market Dysfunctionality, London School of Economics

Frank Veneroso
President, Veneroso Associates, LLC

L. Randall Wray
Senior Scholar, Levy Institute; Professor, University of Missouri–Kansas City

Nikos Xydakis
Editor, Kathimerini

George S. Zavvos
Legal Adviser, Legal Service, European Commission; former Member of the European Parliament (M.E.P.) and European Commission Ambassador

Gennaro Zezza
Research Scholar, Levy Institute; Associate Professor of Economics, University of Cassino, Italy

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