International Day of the Forests

 Thursday, March 21st, 2024

Lindner Family Commons 6th Floor

1957 E St NW, Washington DC 20052

The George Washington University Institute for International Economic Policy at the GW Elliott School of International Affairs will host an event to commemorate the International Day of Forests to focus on the threats that climate change and deforestation pose to indigenous communities living in the Southern Hemisphere and the critical role these communities play in protecting vital ecosystems. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed March 21 the International Day of Forests in 2012, and the 2024 theme is forests and innovation. On the International Day of Forests, countries are encouraged to undertake local, national, and international efforts to organize activities involving forests and trees.

This event brings together conservation experts and senior diplomats to encourage innovation in forest conservation in Sub-Saharan African and Latin American communities to strengthen their ties and promote cross-cultural dialogue on experiences coping with climate change.
Although the Amazon and the Congo Basin are the world’s largest remaining areas of tropical rainforests, the majority of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) nations (e.g., Bolivia, Colombia, the Equator, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela), do not have diplomatic missions in the countries that are members of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) (e.g., the Central African Republic, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea). Improving diplomatic relations and cooperation will support political, economic, and social connections on crucial climate issues. Forests and innovation therefore emerge as an ideal arena for harmonizing local communities’ efforts to share best practices and unite against climate change.

 

Agenda
11:00 a.m. – 11:05 a.m:
Welcoming Remarks: Beni Dedieu Luzau, the South-South Intercultural Conservation Project’s Leader and GW MIPP candidate.

11:05 a.m. – 11:15 a.m:
Opening Remarks from Angelica Mayolo, Former Colombian Minister of Culture & Visiting Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Environmental Initiatives.

11:15 a.m. – 11:25 p.m:
A message from Julio Guity-Guevara, Managing – Director of SUDECC, Inc., and Founder, the Afro Inter – American Forum on Climate Change.

11:25 p.m. – 12:45

Panel Discussion
This panel asks: How can governments, international organizations, and local communities support new initiatives that promote intercultural connection for knowledge exchange and conservation solutions between Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America?

H. E. Agostinho Van-Dúnem: Ambassador of Angola to the United States

H. E. Kitoko Gata Ngoulou: Ambassador of Chad to the United States

H. E. Luis Gilberto Murillo Urrutia: Ambassador of Colombia to the the United States

Hugo Jabini: Saramaka Maroon Politician and Environmental Leader from Suriname and the winner of the 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize

Martha Cecilia Rosero Pena, Social Inclusion Director (Afro Descendants Fellow), Conservation International

Moderator: Dr. Alicia Cooperman, Assistant Professor, George Washington University

12:45–1:00 p.m.:
Q & A with panelists and audience

Reception with food to follow

8th Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Conference

March 7 – 8, 2024
World Bank, Main Complex

1818 H St, Washington, DC

The 8th Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Research Conference will bring together academics and development practitioners to present and discuss questions relating to urban expansion and the future of cities.

The theme is of increasing importance to academics and policy makers alike as the supply of ideas and demand for solutions to address the challenges of urban expansion are growing. Cities in some developing countries are growing at faster rates and at lower income levels than those in developed countries. If well-directed and well-managed, expansion and densification of urban areas can bring economic growth while also offering poverty reduction opportunities. If poorly directed and managed, the result can be congested, unsustainable, and unproductive environments.

Planning for the cities of tomorrow is thus a crucial task, but one benefitting from a multi-disciplinary approach. This edition of the conference will draw from experts at the interface of policy and research to understand which new ideas, new methods, and new collaborations can bring about necessary changes.

The conference will feature a series of policy- and research-oriented events on March 7, 2024, followed by a more technical series of seminars and events (including a Young Urban Economist Workshop) on March 8, 2024. The conference is co-sponsored by the World Bank (Development Research Group and Urban, Disaster Risk, Resilience, and Land), George Washington University (Elliott School of International Affairs and Institute for International Economic Policy), the International Growth Centre (Cities that Work and Cities Research Program), and Millennium Challenge Corporation.

 

 

Conference Agenda

DAY 1 (March 7)

Registration and Coffee (8:30 – 9:00 am)

Welcoming Remarks (9:00 – 9:15 am)
Indermit Gill, Senior Vice President & Chief Economist, The World Bank
Edward Glaeser (TBC), Professor of Economics, Harvard University

OPENING SESSION: Urban Expansion and the Future of Cities (9:15 – 10:45am)
Chair and Moderator: Bernice Van Bronkhorst, Global Director for Urban, Resilience and Land Global Practice, The World Bank

POLICY SESSION: Planning in African Cities (10:45 am – 12:15 pm)
Chair: Alyssa Ayres, Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University

Lunch Break (12:15 – 1:30 pm)

KEYNOTE ADDRESS AND DEBATE: The Promises, Problems, and Policy Pitfalls of Urban Development (1:30 – 3:00 pm)
Keynote Speaker: Gilles Duranton, Dean’s Chair in Real Estate Professor, The Wharton at University of Pennsylvania

Coffee Break (3:00 – 3:30pm)

PARALLEL THEMATIC SESSIONS (3:30 – 5 pm)
Thematic Session A: Urban Expansion (Preston Auditorium)
Chair: Mesbah Motamed, Lead Economist, Millennium Challenge Corporation

Thematic Session B: Incremental Housing (MC 4-800)
Chair: Tanner Regan, Assistant Professor, George Washington University

Thematic Session C: City Structures (MC 13-121)
Chair: Stephane Hallegate, Senior Climate Change Adviser, World Bank

DAY 2 (March 8)

Registration and Coffee (8:30 – 9:15 am)

PARALLEL RESEARCH SESSIONS (9:15 – 11:15 am)
Research Session 1A: Local Economic Development (MC 2-800)
Chair: Jake Grover, Senior Advisor, Millennium Challenge Corporation

Research Session 1B: Segregation (MC C2-350)
Chair: Henry Telli, Senior Country Economist, Ghana, International Growth Centre

Research Session 1C: Transportation (MC 13-121)
Chair: Stephane Straub, Chief Economist for Infrastructure, The World Bank

PARALLEL WORKSHOPS (11:30 am – 12:30 pm)
Young Urban Economist Workshop – Part 1 (MC 2-800)
Chair: Oliver Harman, Cities Economist for the International Growth Centre’s (IGC)

Using Quantitative Spatial Models for Policy Workshop (MC 3-570)
Chair: Juliana Oliveira-Cunha, Policy Economist, International Growth Centre

Lunch Break (12:30 – 1:15 pm)

PARALLEL SESSIONS (1:15 – 2:45 pm)
Young Urban Economist Workshop – Part 2 (MC 2-800)
Chair: Oliver Harman, Cities Economist for the International Growth Centre’s (IGC)

Policy Session: Connecting Policy, Projects, and Research Workshop (MC 13-121)
Chairs: Mesbah Motamed, Lead Economist, Millennium Challenge Corporation, Juliana Oliveira-Cunha, Policy Economist, International Growth Centre

PARALLEL RESEARCH SESSIONS (3:00 – 5:00 pm)
Research Session 3A: Crime and Conflict in Cities (MC 2-800)
Chair: Paul Carrillo, Professor, George Washington University

Research Session 3B: Housing (MC C2-350)
Chair: Hina Shaikh, Senior Country Economist, Pakistan, International Growth Centre

Research Session 3C: Urban Labor Markets (MC 13-121)
Chair: Louise Fox (TBC), Senior Non-Resident Fellow, Africa Growth Initiative, Brookings

For the full agenda and list of speakers, visit the 8th Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Research Conference page.

Sustainable Cities Workshop: Housing, Local Economic Development, & Planning

Thursday, February 15, 2024
9:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET
World Bank, Main Complex

Room MC4-100 1818 H St, Washington, DC

The World Bank – GWU Sustainable Cities workshop series brings together academics and development practitioners to present and discuss key questions of common interest relating to Sustainable Urbanization. Each workshop in the series focuses on a particular topic relating to cities in developing countries. The workshops are hosted by the World Bank (Urban, DRM, Resilience and Land Global Practice) and George Washington University (Institute for International Economic Policy & Department of Economics). Funding for this project was provided by the Institute for Humane Studies.

This discussion is supported by the GW University Seminar Series on Domestic and International Perspectives on Climate Change and Water Management and the GW University Seminar Series on The Global Socio-Economic Costs of Climate Change and Unsustainable Urbanization.

9.00-9.05 — Opening Remarks: Angelica Nunez (Manager, Global Programs Unit, GPURL – World Bank)

Paper Session  Chair: Tanner Regan (GWU)
9.05-9.25 — Policy talk: Sheila Kamunyori (Senior Urban Specialist, GPURL – World Bank, Rwanda office): “Reconsidering Sites and Services
9.25-9.30 — Discussant: Vernon Henderson (LSE)
9.30-9.40 — Q&A
9:40-10.00 — Academic talk: Martina Manara (Sheffield/UCL): “Evaluating urban planning: evidence from Dar es Salaam
10.00-10.05 — Discussant: David Mason (Urban Specialist, GPURL – World Bank, Tanzania office)
10.05-10.15 — Q&A

10.15-10.30 — Break
10.30-10.50 — Academic talk: Geetika Nagpal (Brown): “Scaling Heights: Affordability Implications of Zoning Deregulation in India
10.50-10.55 — Discussant: Horacio Terraza (Lead Urban Specialist, GPURL – World Bank)
10.55-11.05 — Q&A
11.05-11.25 — Policy talk: Dao Harrison (Senior Housing Specialist, GPURL – World Bank, Singapore)
11.25-11.30 — Discussant: Stephen Malpezzi (Wisconsin–Madison)
11.30-11.40 — Q&A

Keynote Session — Chair: Angelica Nunez (Manager, Global Programs Unit, GPURL – World Bank)
11.40-12.10 — Fernando Ferriera (Wharton) “Zoning and land use regulation in Developing Countries
12.10-12.25 — Q&A
12.25-12.30 — Closing Remarks: Remi Jedwab (GWU)

1st World Bank-GWU-UVA Research Conference on “The Economics of Sustainable Development”

Wednesday, November 29th, 2023
8:00 AM – 7:30 PM

Hybrid

The World Bank, in collaboration with George Washington University (GWU) and the University of Virginia (UVA), will host the 1st World Bank-GWU-UVA Conference on “The Economics of Sustainable Development”.

This hybrid conference will be held at the World Bank headquarters in Washington DC on November 29, 2023, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET and available via livestream. Coffee and lunch will be provided for in-person attendees. The conference will be followed by a reception at GWU from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET.

The conference will bring together academics and development economics practitioners to present and discuss pressing questions relating to sustainable development, a theme that is central to the World Bank’s mission of tackling poverty on a liveable planet.

This theme is of increasing importance due to the growing recognition that a commitment to development and tackling poverty is unviable without an equal commitment to the urgency of addressing climate change, pollution, and environmental degradation.

The conference will cover various topics, including biodiversity and forests, the economics of natural resources, and pollution. Furthermore, given Africa’s heavy reliance on renewable natural resources and its vulnerability to climate change impacts, there will be a particular focus on frontier work related to Africa.

Supported by the GW University Seminar Series on Domestic and International Perspectives on Climate Change and Water Management.

Conference Agenda

Welcoming remarks 8.00-8.15

Richard Damania (Chief Economist for Sustainable Development, World Bank) – 5 min

Andrew Dabalen (Chief Economist for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), World Bank) – 5 min

Sheetal Sekhri (UVA) or Molly Lipscomb (UVA) – 1 min

Remi Jedwab (GWU) – 1 min

Session 1 – 8.15-10.00 – Biodiversity and Forests

Each paper has 20 min without interruptions + 10 min Q&A

8.15-8.45 Paper 1: Raahil Madhok (Minnesota), Infrastructure, Institutions, and the Conservation of Biodiversity in India [South Asia]

8.45-9.15 Paper 2: Teevrat Garg (UCSD), Agricultural Productivity and Deforestation [SSA]

9.15-9.45 Paper 3: Anna Papp (Columbia), Rain Follows the Forest: Land Use Policy, Climate Change, and Adaptation [North America]

9.45-10.00 Policy discussion: Nancy Lozano Gracia (Lead Economist, Latin America and the Caribbean, Sustainable Development Practice Group, World Bank)

Coffee Break – 10.00-10.30

Session 2 – 10.30-12.15 – The Economics of Natural Resources

Chair: Richard Damania (Chief Economist, Sustainable Development Practice Group, World Bank)

Each paper has 20 min without interruptions + 10 min Q&A

10.30-11.00 Paper 1: Wolfram Schlenker (Columbia), Cooling Externality of Large-Scale Irrigation [North America]

11.00-11.30 Paper 2: Ryan Brown (CU-Denver), Reinforcing Inequality: Consequences of Elevated Fluoride Exposure and Inequitable Mitigation [South Asia]

11.30-12.00 Paper 3: Witold Więcek (University of Chicago), Water Treatment and Child Mortality: A Meta-Analysis and Cost-effectiveness Analysis.

12.00-12.15 Policy discussion: Hanan Jacoby (Lead Economist, Sustainability and Infrastructure Team, Development Research Group, World Bank)

Lunch Break – 12.15-1.00

Keynote – 1.00-2.00

1.00-1.05 Introduction

1.05-1.35 Keynote – Andrew Foster (Brown)

1.35-1.55 Policy discussion

Session 3 – 2.00-3.15 Climate Change in Africa and Asia

Chair: Andrew Dabalen (Chief Economist, Africa Region, World Bank)

Each paper has 12 min without interruptions + 8 min Q&A

2.00-2.20 Paper 1: Lucile Laugerette (F) (ENS-Lyon) and Mathieu Couttenier (M) (ENS-Lyon) – Groundwater, Climate Change and Conflict: Evidence from Africa [SSA]

2.20-2.40 Paper 2: Bruno Conte (M) (UPF) – Future Climate Change and Sub-Saharan Africa’s Regional Lake Economies [SSA]

2.40-3.00 Paper 3: Gaurav Chiplunkar (M) (UVA) – Environmental Markets and Misallocation: Evidence from Ground Water Availability in India [South Asia]

3.00-3.15 Policy discussion: Carolyn Fischer (Research Manager, Sustainability and Infrastructure Team, Development Research Group of the World Bank)

Coffee Break – 3.15-3.40

Session 4 – 3.40-5.45 – Air Pollution

Chair: Dina Umali-Deininger (Regional Director for South Asia, Sustainable Development Practice Group, World Bank)

3.40-4.00 Introductory presentation: Christa Hasenkopf (EPIC, University of Chicago): Insights from the latest Air Quality Life Index report, with a specific focus on sub-Saharan Africa [SSA]

Each of the following three papers has 20 min without interruptions + 10 min Q&A

4.00-4.30 Koichiro Ito (Chicago). International Spillover Effects of Air Pollution: Evidence from Mortality and Health Data. [EAP]

4.30-5.00 Saad Gulzar (M) (Princeton). Administrative Incentives Impact Crop-Residue Burning and Health in South Asia. [South Asia]

5.00-5.30 Susanna Berkouwer (Wharton): Private Actions in the Presence of Externalities: The Health Impacts of Reducing Air Pollution Peaks but not Ambient Exposure

5.30-5.45 Policy discussion: Helena Naber (Senior Environmental Specialist, Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice, World Bank)

5th Washington Area International Finance Symposium (WAIFS)

Banner

Friday, September 22nd, 2023
9:00 am – 5:00 pm (ET)
Lindner Commons (Room 602)
Elliott School of International Affairs, GWU
1957 E Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20052

The 5th Washington Area International Finance Symposium (WAIFS) is a research conference that highlights academic work from researchers at leading finance institutions in the Washington DC area. Breakfast and Lunch will be provided.

 

Agenda

9:00–9:15 Introductory Remarks

9:15–10:15 “The Unintended Consequences of Financial Sanctions” – Ritt Keerati (Federal Reserve Board)
Discussion: Andres Fernandez (International Monetary Fund)

COFFEE BREAK (10:15–10:30)

10:30–11:30 “Reexamining Sovereign Spreads” – Stelios Fourakis (Johns Hopkins University)
Discussion: Ignacio Presno (Federal Reserve Board)

11:30–12:30 “Buyer Market Power and Exchange Rate Pass-Through” – Leticia Juarez (Interamerican Development Bank)
Discussion: Hiau Looi Kee (The World Bank)

LUNCH (12:30–1:30)

1:30–2:30 “Corporate Credit Risk and Capital Flows in Emerging Economies” – Tatjana Schulze (International Monetary Fund)
Discussion: Sergio Schmukler (The World Bank)

2:30–3:30 “Liability Dollarization and Exchange Rate Pass-Through” – Annie Lee (Johns Hopkins University SAIS)
Discussion: Sai Ma (Federal Reserve Board)

COFFEE BREAK (3:30–3:45)

3:45–4:45 “Shock Propagation with Multi-Sector Firms” – Vladimir Smirnyagin (University of Virginia)
Discussion: Senay Agca (George Washington University)

2023 Washington Area Labor Economics Symposium

Friday, 28th April, 2023

Copley Formal Lounge

The Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy is pleased to host the fifth annual Washington Area Labor Economics Symposium (WALES) on April 28, 2023.

WALES is a one-day labor economics conference bringing together researchers from DC-area institutions. The conference provides an outlet to share recent or ongoing research on a broad range of topics in labor economics in both developed and developing country settings, and offers an opportunity to meet and network with other researchers in the area.

Please feel free to distribute this widely to your networks: All are welcome to attend! Please email WALESconference@georgetown.edu with questions.

Location

The conference was held in person on Friday, April 28 in Copley Formal Lounge on Georgetown University’s main campus. Directions to the Copley Formal Lounge can be found here.

Agenda

9:00-9:25 Welcome breakfast and coffee

9:25-9:30 Welcome remarks

9:30-10:30 Session 1 

  • Moises Yi, “Size Matters: The Benefits of Large Labor Markets for Job Seekers,” U.S. Census Bureau
  • Benjamin Raymond, “The Impact of Referral-Networks on Sectoral Reallocation: Job Search Asymmetries and the Network Wedge,” Bureau of Labor Statistics

10:30-10:40 Coffee Break

10:40-12:10 Session 2

  • Laurent Bossavie, “The Effects of Subsidizing Social Security Contributions: Job Creation or Formalization?” World Bank
  • Sammy Young, “Unionization, Employer Opposition, and Establishment Closure,” U.S. Census Bureau
  • Sandra Rozo, “Electoral Consequences of Facilitating Forced Migrant’s Integration,” World Bank

12:10-1:10 Lunch and poster session

1:10-2:10 Session 3 

  • Jishnu Das, “Randomized Regulation: The Impact of Minimum Quality Standards on Health Markets,” Georgetown University
  • Isabel Cairo, “Labor Market Discrimination and the Racial Unemployment Gap: Can Monetary Policy Make a Difference?“ Board of Governors

2:10-2:20 Coffee Break

2:20-3:50 Session 4

  • Elira Kuka, “Spillover Effects of Welfare Programs,” George Washington University
  • Sita Slavov, “Does Information Influence the Choice between Social Security Disability and Early Retirement?” George Mason University
  • Krista Ruffini, “Does Unconditional Cash during Pregnancy Affect Infant Health?” Georgetown University

3:50-4:00 Coffee Break

4:00-5:00 Session 5  

  • Soumitra Shukla, “Making the Elite: Top Jobs, Disparities, and Solutions,” Board of Governors
  • Kevin Rinz, “Re-examining Regional Income Convergence: A Distributional Approach,” U.S. Census Bureau

5:00-6:00 Reception and networking

  • Old North 205

Poster presentations:

  • Esther Arenas Arroyo, “Low-Skilled Worker Shortages and Firm Performance,” Vienna University of Economics and Business
  • Sungbin Park, “Did Pandemic Unemployment Insurance Prolong Unemployment but Reduce Covid Deaths?” George Mason University
  • Nathalie Gonzalez-Prieto, “Career Effects of Working at a Startup,” University of Maryland
  • Alexander McQuoid, “Peter Peter, Naval Leader, Had a Job but Couldn’t Keep Her – The Peter Principle in the US Navy,” U.S. Naval Academy
  • Alejanda Montoya, “The Heterogeneous Value of Four- and Two-year College Choices,” University of Maryland
  • Catalina Morales, “Am I Good Enough? The Effect of Non-cognitive Skills on College Applications,” University of Maryland
  • Rachel Nesbit, “Mental Health in the Criminal Justice System: The Effect of Mandated Therapy for Convicted Individuals,” University of Maryland
  • Miguel Sarzosa, “Childhood Gender Nonconformity and Gender Gaps in Life Outcomes,” Purdue University
  • Cristina Tello-Trillo, “Trade Liberalization and Labor-Market Outcomes: Evidence from US Matched Employer-Employee Data,” U.S. Census Bureau
  • Sean Wang, “What is the Price for Opportunity? The Effects of Employer Learning on Worker Promotions and Turnover,” U.S. Census Bureau

GWU’s 15th Annual China Conference

Friday, April 7, 2023,
9:00 am – 4:15 pm ET
Lindner Family Commons, 1957 E St NW

The Institute for International Economic Policy is pleased to announce the 15th Annual Conference on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations will take place on Friday, April 7th, 2023 at the Elliott School of International Affairs. This conference is co-sponsored by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies and the GW Center for International Business Education and Research (GW-CIBER). Breakfast, lunch, and light refreshments will be provided.

Conference Agenda:

8:30-9:00 a.m. – Breakfast and Registration

9:00-9:15 a.m. – Welcome Remarks

  • IIEP Director Remi Jedwab
  • Elliott School Dean Alyssa Ayres

9:15-10:00 a.m. – Keynote Address – “The Study of China’s Political Economy: Our Evolving Analytical Agenda” 

  • Harry Harding (UVA, National Chengchi University, and Center for Asia Pacific Resilience and Innovation – CAPRi)

10:00-11:15 a.m. – Panel 1: The State and the Political System in China

  • Bruce Dickson (GWU)
  • Meg Rithmire (Harvard)
  • Yuhua Wang (Harvard)

11:15-11:30 a.m. – Coffee break

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – Panel 2: Autocracy, Movement, and Development in Chinese History and Today

  • Yasheng Huang (MIT)
  • Suqin Ge (Virginia Tech)

12:30-1:30 p.m. – Lunch

1:30-2:45 p.m. – Panel 3: Trade War and a Race of Industrial Policy

  • Chad Bown (Peterson Institute)
  • Lee Branstetter (CMU)
  • Jennifer Hillman (Georgetown)

2:45-3:00 p.m. – Coffee break

3:00-4:15 p.m. – Panel 4: The Past, Present, and Future of U.S.-China Relations

  • Harry Harding (UVA, National Chengchi University, and Center for Asia Pacific Resilience and Innovation – CAPRi)
  • Michael Lampton (JHU)
  • David Shambaugh (GWU)

4:15 p.m. – Closing Remarks

 About the Keynote Speaker

Harry Harding is Yushan Scholar and University Chair Professor in the College of Social Science at National Cheng Chi University in Taiwan and University Professor Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Public Policy at the University of Virginia, where he is also a Faculty Senior Fellow at the Miller Center of Public Affairs. He has previously held visiting or adjunct appointments at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, the University of Washington, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Sydney, the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and National Cheng Chi University.

Harding served as the founding dean of UVA’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy between 2009 and 2014. Before joining the Batten School, he held faculty appointments at Swarthmore College and Stanford University, founded the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and was a Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution. From 1995 to 2005 he was Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University, and from 2005 to 2007 was Director of Research and Analysis at Eurasia Group, a political risk advisory and consulting firm based in New York. He has served on the boards of several educational and non-profit institutions, as well as on the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Science and Technology and the U.S. Defense Policy Board.

Harding is the author of Organizing China: The Problem of Bureaucracy, 1949-1976; China’s Second Revolution: Reform After Mao; A Fragile Relationship: the United States and China Since 1972; and the chapter on the Cultural Revolution in The Cambridge History of China. He is also the editor or co-editor of China’s Foreign Relations in the 1980s; Sino-American Relations, 1945-1955: A Joint Reassessment of a Critical Decade; and The India-China Relationship: What the United States Needs to Know. He is presently writing a book on the history of the US-China relationship from the Clinton Administration to the Trump Administration, with the working title A Broken Engagement: the United States and China from Partners to Competitors.

Harding received his B.A. from Princeton and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford. He is an elected member of the Cosmos Club, The Council on Foreign Relations, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong; and the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House).

Collaborate To Create Change: Towards Racial and Socioeconomic Equity in our Scholarship, Research & Teaching

Friday, September 23rd, 2022
7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. ET
The Dee Kelly Lounge
Jack Morton Auditorium
Faculty Conference Center
The Jacob Burns Moot Court Room

The George Washington University invites you to join us for our first racial and socioeconomic equity research showcase. GW’s Equity Institute Initiative (EII) is a university-wide collaboration to create an institute dedicated to community-engaged research on the worldwide program of racial and ethnic inequality.

Keynote Speakers

Picture of Bonnie GordonDr. Bonnie Gordon is an Associate Professor in the University of Virginia McIntire Department of Music. She is a music historian who works across disciplines and creative practices. She is fascinated by the idea of sound as fundamental to the ways we move through the world and deeply committed to the idea that learning about sound is not for musicians only. primary research interests center on the experiences of sound in Early Modern music making and the affective potential of the human voice.  

Professor Gordon is a founding faculty director of the newly launched University of Virginia Equity Center; she founded the Arts Mentors a program designed to increase access to the arts in Charlottesville; and is a collaborating faculty member of The Sound Justice Lab, a group of artists and academics who use audio-visual media and storytelling to explore what justice means to ordinary people and everyday life.

Professor Gordon’s research centers on sound and gender in the early Modern world. Her first book, Monteverdi’s Unruly Women (Cambridge University Press, 2004) frames the composer’s madrigals and music dramas written between 1600 and 1640 as windows into contemporary notions of sound, body, voice, and sense. She has explored similar issues in a variety of contexts, including articles about contemporary singer-songwriters Kate Bush and Tori Amos and an interdisciplinary and cross cultural volume of essays co-edited with Martha Freldman about courtesans entitled The Courtesans Arts, (Oxford University Press, 2006). Dr. Gordon is the recipient of two grants from the Folger Shakespeare Library, a dissertation grant from the American Association of University Women, a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at Brandeis University, a Bunting Fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship. She has also been the Robert Lehman Visiting Professor at Villa I Tatti, The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. In addition to her scholarly work, she has published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Slate and the Cville Weekly. She plays jazz, rock, and classical viola.

Picture of Eddie GlaudeOne of the nation’s most prominent scholars, Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr. is an author, political commentator, public intellectual and passionate educator who examines the complex dynamics of the American experience. His writings, including Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul, In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America, and his most recent, the New York Times bestseller, Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for our Own, takes a wide look at Black communities, the difficulties of race in the United States and the challenges we face as a democracy. In his writing and speaking, Glaude is an American critic in the tradition of James Baldwin and Ralph Waldo Emerson, confronting history and bringing our nation’s complexities, vulnerabilities and hope into full view. Hope that is, in one of his favorite quotes from W.E.B. Du Bois, “not hopeless, but a bit unhopeful.”

Glaude is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and Chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton. He is also on the Morehouse College Board of Trustees. He frequently appears in the media, as a columnist for TIME Magazine and as an MSNBC contributor on programs like Morning Joe and Deadline Whitehouse with Nicolle Wallace. He regularly appears on Meet the Press on Sundays. Glaude also hosts Princeton’s AAS podcast, a conversation around the field of African American Studies and the Black experience in the 21st century.

A highly accomplished and respected scholar of religion, Glaude is a former president of the American Academy of Religion. His books on religion and philosophy include An Uncommon Faith: A Pragmatic Approach to the Study of African American Religion, African American Religion: A Very Short Introduction, and Exodus! Religion, Race and Nation in Early 19th Century Black America, which was awarded the Modern Language Association’s William Sanders Scarborough Book Prize.

Some like to describe Glaude as the quintessential Morehouse man, having left his home in Moss Point, Mississippi at age 16 to begin studies at the HBCU and alma mater of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He holds a master’s degree in African American Studies from Temple University and a Ph.D. in Religion from Princeton University.

Glaude is known both for his inspiring oratory and ability to convene conversations that engage fellow citizens from all backgrounds — from young activists to corporate audiences looking for a fresh perspective on DEI. In 2011, he delivered Harvard’s DuBois lectures. His 2015 commencement remarks at Colgate University titled, “Turning Our Backs,” was recognized by the New York Times as one of the best commencement speeches of the year.

Combining a scholar’s knowledge of history, a political commentator’s take on the latest events, and an activist’s passion for social justice, Glaude challenges all of us to examine our collective American conscience, “not to posit the greatness of America, but to establish the ground upon which to imagine the country anew.”

Picture of Kristen ClarkKristen Clarke is the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice. In this role, she leads the Justice Department’s broad federal civil rights enforcement efforts and works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all who live in America. Assistant Attorney General Clarke is a lifelong civil rights lawyer who has spent her entire career in public service.

Assistant Attorney General Clarke began her career as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division through the Department of Justice’s Honors Program. In 2006, she joined the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where she helped lead the organization’s work in the areas of voting rights and election law across the country. Ms. Clarke worked on cases defending the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act, presented oral argument to the DC District Court in Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, and has provided testimony on federal and state voting rights legislation. In 2011, she was named the head of the Civil Rights Bureau for the New York State Attorney General’s Office, where she led broad civil rights enforcement actions. Under her leadership, the Bureau secured landmark agreements with banks to address unlawful redlining, employers to address barriers to reentry for people with criminal backgrounds, police departments on reforms to policies and practices, major retailers on racial profiling of consumers, landlords on discriminatory housing policies, school districts concerning issues relating to the school-to-prison pipeline and more. In 2015, Ms. Clarke was named the president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, one of the nation’s leading civil rights organizations founded at the request of John F. Kennedy. There, she led the organization’s legal work in courts across the country addressing some of the nation’s most complex racial justice and civil rights challenges.

Assistant Attorney General Clarke was born in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from Choate Rosemary Hall, she received her AB from Harvard University and her JD from Columbia Law School. 

Picture of Caroline Laguerre BrownCaroline Laguerre-Brown serves as the Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement.  Caroline directs GW’s efforts to advance diversity and inclusion throughout the university and oversees the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service, the Office of Disability Support Services, the Multicultural Student Services Center and the Title IX Office. 

Prior to joining the George Washington University in August 2016, Caroline previously served as the Vice Provost and Chief Diversity Officer at Johns Hopkins University where she developed their first university-wide sexual harassment prevention training initiative, spearheaded unconscious bias training for faculty search committees, launched a Race in America speaker series and co-developed a comprehensive faculty diversity initiative.  Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, she held positions as labor and employment defense counsel for the New York City Transit Authority and as assistant director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Office for the Fire Department of New York. She also served as staff counsel to the Equal Employment Advisory Council in Washington, DC.

Caroline is a graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton and the University of Virginia School of Law.

Featured Speakers

Picture of Mark WrightonPresident Mark S. Wrighton, PhD, was elected President of the George Washington University January 1, 2022. For almost 24 years (July 1995-May 2019), Wrighton served as the 14th Chancellor and chief executive officer of Washington University in St. Louis. In the years following his appointment, Washington University made significant progress in student quality, campus improvements, resource development, curriculum, and international reputation.

 

 

Picture of Aristide J. CollinsDr. Aristide J. Collins Jr. is Vice President, Chief of Staff, and Secretary of the University, at the George Washington University. His expertise includes executive leadership in university governance, institutional advancement, facilitating and managing the implementation of Board of Trustees, presidential and university-wide initiatives to advance organizational priorities. He has also served as Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations, providing strategic oversight and leadership during the public phase of the University’s $1 billion “Making History” campaign, recorded as the largest fundraising year in its history.

 

Picture of Christopher A. BraceyChristopher A. Bracey (Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs) is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of U.S. race relations, individual rights, and criminal procedure. Professor Bracey teaches and researches in the areas of the legal history of U.S. race relations, constitutional law, criminal procedure, civil procedure, and civil rights. He was appointed to his role as Provost in June 2021.

 

 

Picture of Dayna Bowen MatthewDayna Bowen Matthew, JD, PhD, is the Dean and Harold H. Greene Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School. A leader in public health and civil rights law who focuses on disparities in health, health care, and the social determinants of health, Dean Matthew joined GW Law in 2020. She is the author of the bestselling book Just Medicine: A Cure for Racial Inequality in American Health Care and the newly released Just Health: Treating Structural Racism to Heal America.

All attendees are welcome to attend the event in person. We require that guests follow the George Washington University Visitor guidelines.

8th Annual Conference Washington Area Development Economics Symposium (WADES)

Thursday, May 13, 2021 – Friday, May 14, 2021 

The Washington Area Development Economics Symposium (WADES) is an annual research conference which highlights academic work from researchers at leading economics institutions in development economics in the Washington DC area. Researchers from George Washington University, University of Maryland, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Virginia, the World Bank, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), American University, George Mason University, and the Center for Global Development are all participants in the symposium. The 2021 virtual-WADES will be hosted by the Georgetown University Initiative for Innovation, Development, and Evaluation.

Agenda

Thursday, May 13, 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm

2:00 – 2:30: Faculty Presentation:

Remi Jedwab (GWU): “Estimating the Spillover Effects of Foreign Conflict: Evidence from Boko Haram”

2:45 – 3:30: Student Presentation:

Deniz Sanin (Georgetown): “Do Domestic Violence Laws Protect Women from Domestic Violence? Evidence from Rwanda”

Discussant: Kenneth Leonard (Maryland)

3:45 – 4:15: Washington Area Research Showcase: Poster Session

4:30 – 5:15: Student Presentation:

Tomohiro Hara (Maryland): “Radio and racism during Apartheid”

Discussant: Alessandra Fenizia (GWU)

5:30 – 6:00: Faculty Presentation:

Shan Aman-Rana (UVA): “Gender, information exchange and choice over co-workers: experimental evidence” (with Clement Minaudier, Brais Alvarez Pereira, and Shamyla Chaudry)

Friday, May 14, 2:00 pm – 5:30 pm

2:00 – 2:30: Faculty Presentation:

M. R. Sharan (Maryland): “Something to Complain About: How Minority Representatives Overcome Ethnic Differences”

2:45 – 3:30: Student Presentation:

Luan Santos (UVA): “Deadly Politics: Political Connections, Intergovernmental Transfers, and Mortality”

Discussant: Jishnu Das (Georgetown)

3:30 – 4:00: Coffee Break

4:00 – 4:45: Student Presentation:

Federico Haslop (GWU): “Climate Change, Rural Livelihoods and Urbanization: Evidence from the Permanent Shrinking of Lake Chad”

Discussant: Gaurav Chiplunkar (UVA)

5:00 – 5:30: Faculty Presentation:

Catherine Michaud Leclerc (Georgetown): “Private School Entry, Sorting, and Performance of Public Schools: Evidence from Pakistan”

Recovering from Pandemic Recessions

Friday, November 20, 2020
WebEx

The Institute for International Economic Policy is pleased to invite you to the 13th annual Conference on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations. This year the conference will take place as a virtual series. This conference is co-sponsored by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies and the GW Center for International Business Education and Research.

In this panel event, Dr. John Rogers, Senior Adviser at the Federal Reserve Board, and Michael Song, Professor of Economics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, will share their respective research investigating economic recessions and recoveries during modern health crises and China’s economic experience during the current pandemic.

Examining historical episodes, John Rogers’ latest work finds that during the previous modern health crises, real GDP growth fell by around three percentage points in affected countries relative to unaffected countries in the year of the outbreak. Bounce-back in GDP growth was rapid, but output was still below pre-shock level five years later. Unemployment for less educated workers was higher and exhibited more persistence, and there was significantly greater persistence in female unemployment than male. The negative effects on GDP and unemployment were felt less in countries with larger first-year responses in government spending, especially on health care. Affected countries’ consumption declined, investment dropped sharply, and international trade plummeted. Bounce-back in these expenditure categories is also rapid but not by enough to restore pre-shock trends. These estimates are viewed as a lower bound for the global economic effects of COVID-19.

Zooming in on the effect of the pandemic and lockdown policy on Chinese economy, Michael will first show his estimates on the economic impacts of COVID-19 using high-frequency, city-to-city truck flow data from China. The largest economic impacts are from COVID shocks to Wuhan and Beijing, knocking about three percentage points off the national real income. If all Chinese cities had containment policies that responded to local pandemic severity in the same way as those in Hubei did, China’s first-quarter real income would have been reduced by half. He will then use firm registration records, online sales and job posting data to show the recovery of Chinese economy and its structural patterns.

Meet the Speakers:

Picture of John RogersJohn Rogers is a Senior Adviser in the International Finance Division of the Federal Reserve Board. He received his BA from the University of Delaware and PhD in economics from the University of Virginia. John was on the economics department faculty at Penn State University, where he rose to Associate Professor in 1996. He began working on the Fed’s multi-country model in the Trade & Financial Studies section, and became section chief in 2003. John is the author of several academic publications in international finance and macroeconomics. He continues to teach those subjects as an adjunct professor in the economics department at Georgetown University. John is the father of five children.

Picture of Michael SongMichael Song is a professor at the Department of Economics, Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), an outstanding fellow of the Faculty of Social Science at CUHK, a co-director of CUHK-Tsinghua Joint Research Center for Chinese Economy and a distinguished visiting professor at the School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University. His research focuses on Chinese economy and macroeconomics. He published papers on leading academic journals including American Economic Review and Econometrica. His paper “Growing like China” won Sunyefang Economic Science Award and the Best Paper Award for Chinese Young Economists. Before joining CUHK, Prof. Song was an associate professor of economics at Chicago Booth. Prof. Song is also a co-editor of China Economic Review, an associate editor of Econometrica and Journal of European Economic Association and an academic committee member of China’s Economics Foundation.

Meet the Moderator:

Picture of Remi JedwabRémi Jedwab is an associate professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Elliott School and the Department of Economics of George Washington University and an Affiliated Scholar of the Marron Institute of Urban Management at New York University. Professor Jedwab’s main fields of research are development and growth, urban economics, labor economics and political economy. Some of the issues he has studied include urbanization and structural transformation, the relationship between population growth and economic growth, the economic effects of transportation infrastructure, and the roles of institutions, human capital and technology in development. He is the co-founder and co-organizer of the World Bank-GWU Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Conference and the Washington Area Development Economics Symposium. His research has been published in the American Economic Review, the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Economic Journal, and the Journal of Urban Economics. Finally, he is an Associate Editor at the Journal of Urban Economics and Regional Science and Urban Economics.

Chinese Translation:

乔治华盛顿大学国际经济政策研究所 (The Institute for International Economic Policy) (IIEP) 欢迎您参加中国经济发展和中美经济关系的第十三届年会。今年的研讨会将以用虚拟方式进行。这个活动是全英文的。这次会议是由Sigur亚洲研究中心和乔治华盛顿国际商业教育与研究中心共同主办的。

 

在这次小组讨论会上,美联储高级顾问Dr. John Rogers 和香港中文大学宋铮(Michael Song) 教授将分享他们各自在有关现代健康危机导致的经济衰退和复苏和中国在Covid-19疫情期间经济走向的研究成果。

 

Dr. John Rogers 最近的研究发现在先前健康危机期间,疫情爆发当年,被影响的国家的实际国内生产总值相对于未受到影响的国家跌幅达到3%。实际国内生产总值反弹很快,但五年后产量仍然比爆发年前低。受教育程度较低的工人失业率持续偏高,并且表现出更大的持久性;女性失业持久性也明显比男性高。对在疫情第一年提供大量政府资助,尤其医疗方面支出,的国家,实际国内生产总值和失业影响偏小。受到影响的国家消费,投资,和国际贸易都跌幅很大,虽然反弹迅速,但仍然不足以恢复爆发年前的趋势。此研究认为以往健康危机对经济的影响是此次COVID-19 对全球经济影响的下限。

 

专注于目前Covid-19疫情与隔离政策对中国经济的影响,宋教授的工作指出隔离对经济,包括从人口和货物流动到总产出,都带来剧烈影响。消费支出的大小和结构也有很大的调整。隔离的时间结束以后,制造业恢复迅速,而用电量,零售额和餐饮收入则表现较大跨区域异质性,服务业产出的也受到更大影响。

 

演讲者:

 

宋铮 (Michael Song)

宋铮是香港中文大学经济系的教授,社会科学院的杰出学者, 清华大学-香港中文大学中国经济联合研究中心的主任,和清华大学经济管理学院杰出访问教授。他的研究领域为中国经济和宏观经济学。宋教授的论文在顶级学术期刊,包括American Economic Review 和 Econometrica,发表。他的论文 “Growing like China” 获得孙冶方经济学奖和中国青年经济学家优秀论文奖。在加入香港中文大学之前, 宋铮曾任芝加哥大学布斯商学院经济学副教授。他的学术兼职还包括 China Economic Review 联合主编,Econometrica 和 Journal of European Economic Association 副主编, 中国经济学基金会学术委员会委员等。

 

John Rogers

John Rogers 是美联储国际金融部的高级顾问。他拥有德拉瓦大学 (University of Delaware) 的政治和经济学士学位,以及弗吉尼亚大学 (University of Virginia) 的经济学博士学位。 Dr. Rogers曾在宾夕法尼亚州立大学 (Pennsylvania State University) 经济系任教,并于1996年升任副教授。他在美联储的贸易与金融研究部门研究美联储的多国模型,并于2003年成为该部门负责人。 Dr. Rogers 是诸多国际金融和宏观经济学方面学术出版物的作者。目前Dr. Rogers 在乔治敦大学 (Georgetown University) 经济学系担任兼职教授。他也是五个小孩的爸爸。

International Trade in the Asia-Pacific Region Amidst U.S.-China Tensions

Tuesday, November 10, 2020
7:00 p.m. – 8:15 p.m. EST
via Zoom

The Institute for International Economic Policy was pleased to invite you to the 13th annual Conference on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations. The conference took place as a virtual series and was co-sponsored by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies and the GW Center for International Business Education and Research. This event in the series was co-sponsored and hosted by Elliott School of International Affairs Alumni Programs.

Since 2017, trade disputes between the U.S. and China have spiraled into a full blown economic and trade war. U.S. tariff rates on Chinese imports rose from an average 3.1 percent “Most Favored Nation” rate in 2017 to above 20 percent in 2020, covering essentially all imports including both intermediate and consumer goods. China responded by imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products ranging from soybeans to electrical equipment and autos. This trade war has rippled throughout the region to affect the countries of the Asia-Pacific and beyond.

This online panel discussion featured two prominent GW alumni working in the Asia-Pacific region: Chris Fussner, CCAS BA ’79, founder and president of TransTechnology Worldwide, based in Singapore, and Frank Wong, ESIA BA ’79, president of Scholastic Asia, based in Hong Kong. Prof. Maggie Chen, professor of economics and international affairs at the George Washington University, moderated the discussion.

Meet the Discussants:

Picture of Maggie ChenMaggie Chen is Professor of Economics and International Affairs at George Washington University. She has served as Director of GW’s Institute for International Economic Policy and worked as an economist in the research department of the World Bank and a consultant for the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the U.S. Congressional Budget Office. Professor Chen’s research areas include multinational firms, international trade, and regional trade agreements. Her work has been published in academic journals such as the Review of Economics and Statistics, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Journal of International Economics, and Journal of Development Economics. She is a co-editor of Economic Inquiry and an associate editor of Economic Modeling.

Picture of Chris FussnerChris Fussner is founder and president of TransTechnology Worldwide, based in Singapore, a market leader in the sales and distribution of surface mount technology with offices in 9 countries in Asia and 3 countries in North America. Prior to forming TransTechnology in 1988, Mr. Fussner headed Far East Sales for Amistar Corporation based in Seoul, Korea and Singapore, where he was responsible for Sales and Service for electronics manufacturing industry machines in the Pacific, as well as the Western United States. Mr. Fussner started his international career working with relief and refugee resettlement in West Africa and Malaysia. He holds a B.A. in History and Asian Studies from GW, and a Master of International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He previously served on the board of advisors for GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs.

Picture of Frank WongFrank Wong is President of Scholastic Asia, and based in Hong Kong. Before joining Scholastic Asia as President over 15 years ago, he was Managing Director of PepsiCo’s food business in China and established best practices in sales execution and in-store merchandising. Prior to PepsiCo, Frank Wong spent 5 years with Nabisco, successfully building the company’s international brand identity. Wong also held various marketing positions at Colgate-Palmolive in New York and was co-founder and President of a start-up venture to develop and market special electronic products for the visually impaired around the world. Mr. Wong was born in Hong Kong and speaks fluent Mandarin and Cantonese. In addition to his degree from GW, he holds a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University and did advanced studies at Harvard’s JFK School of Government. He is the recipient of the 2015 Alumni Outstanding Service Award from the GW Alumni Association.

13th Annual Conference on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Relations

Virtual Conference Series

Beginning October 30, 2020

via Webex

Schedule of Events

Friday, October 30: Keynote:

                              Carmen M. Reinhart (World Bank Group): Debt After COVID

Tuesday, November 10, 2020: International Trade in the Asia-Pacific Region

Christopher J. Fussner (TransTechnology Worldwide)

Frank Wong (Scholastic Asia)

Maggie Chen (Institute for International Economic Policy)

Friday, November 20, 2020: 13th China conference panel – Michael Song and John Rogers

Moderator: Remi Jedwab

Michael Song (Chinese University of Hong Kong): 

John Rogers (Federal Reserve Board):

Friday, January 15, 2021: The Biden Administration Turns to a Deteriorating US-China Relationship

                               Moderator: Barbara Stallings

                              David M. Lampton (Foreign Policy Institute and Johns Hopkins–SAIS)

                              Deborah Lehr (Paulson Institute)

Friday, March 5th, 2021: China’s Outward Investments: State Capitalism or Capital Flight?

                                Moderator: Jay Shambaugh 

                              Meg Rithmire (Harvard)

                              Deoborah Brautigam (JHU)

                                Stephen B. Kaplan

Friday, April 9th, 2021: Minimum Performance Targets, Multitasking and Incentives: Theory and Evidence from China’s Air Quality Controls

                                Moderators: Jay Shambaugh, Chao Wei

                             Li-An Zhou

                             Matthew E. Kahn

Friday, April 30th, 2021: Globalizing Patient Capital: The Political Economy of Chinese Finance in the Americas

                               Moderators: Jay Shambaugh

                             Stephen Kaplan

                              Carol Wise (University of Southern California) 

                              Roselyn Hsueh (Temple University) 

An archive of all previous Annual Conferences on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations is available here.

For more information, please contact Kyle Renner at iiep@gwu.edu or 202-994-5320.

Cosponsored by:

IMF April 2020 World Economic Outlook

Thursday, June 11, 2020
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm EDT
via Webex

Please join the Institute for International Economic Policy for a virtual discussion of the International Monetary Fund’s April 2020 World Economic Outlook.

Agenda

1:00 – 1:05 p.m.: Welcoming Remarks

James Foster, George Washington University 

1:05 – 1:35  p.m.: Chapter 1: Global Prospects and Policies 

Presenter: Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti, International Monetary Fund

Discussant: Jason Furman, Harvard Kennedy School

1:40 – 2:05 p.m.: Chapter 2: Countering Future Recessions in Advanced Economies: Cyclical Polices in an Era of Low Rates and High Debt 

Presenter:  Wenjie Chen, International Monetary Fund

Discussant: Jay Shambaugh, George Washington University & Hamilton Project                

2:05 – 2:30 p.m.: Chapter 3: Dampening Global Financial Shocks in Emerging Markets: Can Macroprudential Regulation Help?             

Presenters: Katharina Bergant, International Monetary Fund

Niels-Jakob Hansen, International Monetary Fund

Discussant: Sunil Sharma, George Washington University

2:30 p.m.: Concluding Remarks            

Read the full World Economic Outlook here

The COVID-19 pandemic is inflicting high and rising human costs worldwide, and the necessary protection measures are severely impacting economic activity. As a result of the pandemic, the global economy is projected to contract sharply by –3 percent in 2020, much worse than during the 2008–09 financial crisis. In a baseline scenario–which assumes that the pandemic fades in the second half of 2020 and containment efforts can be gradually unwound—the global economy is projected to grow by 5.8 percent in 2021 as economic activity normalizes, helped by policy support. The risks for even more severe outcomes, however, are substantial. Effective policies are essential to forestall the possibility of worse outcomes, and the necessary measures to reduce contagion and protect lives are an important investment in long-term human and economic health. Because the economic fallout is acute in specific sectors, policymakers will need to implement substantial targeted fiscal, monetary, and financial market measures to support affected households and businesses domestically. And internationally, strong multilateral cooperation is essential to overcome the effects of the pandemic, including to help financially constrained countries facing twin health and funding shocks, and for channeling aid to countries with weak health care systems.
 
More than a decade after the global financial crisis, the world is struggling with the health and economic effects of a profound new crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Advanced economies entered this crisis with interest rates at historical lows and public debts, on average, higher than they had been over the past 60 years. They will come out from the crisis with even higher public debts. Drawing on analysis completed before the emergence of the pandemic, this chapter examines policymakers’ options to respond to adverse shocks and build resilience when rates are low and debts high.
 
As discussed in Chapter 1, the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting emerging markets through an unprecedented mix of domestic and external shocks whose combined effects are very hard to predict. Among these, emerging markets are confronting a sharp tightening in global financial conditions. Against this backdrop, this chapter asks whether, based on historical experience, countries that have adopted a more stringent level of macroprudential regulation—aimed at strengthening financial stability—are better placed to withstand the impact of global financial shocks on domestic macroeconomic conditions.

The Biden Administration Turns to a Deteriorating US-China Relationship

Friday, January 15, 2021
09:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
WebEx

The Institute for International Economic Policy is pleased to invite you to the 13th annual Conference on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations. This year, the conference will take place as a virtual series. This conference is co-sponsored by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies and the GW Center for International Business Education and Research.

In this event, Professor David Michael Lampton will give a keynote address on the future of U.S.-China relations under a new American administration. He will be joined by Barbara Stallings, IIEP Distinguished Visiting Scholar and William R. Rhodes Research Professor at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University, and Deborah Lehr, Vice Chairman and Executive Director of the Paulson Institute.

About the Speakers: 

David M. Lampton is Senior Fellow at the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute and Professor Emeritus at Johns Hopkins–SAIS. Immediately prior to his current post he was Oksenberg- Rohlen Fellow at Stanford University’s Asia-Pacific Research Center from 2019-2020. For more than two decades prior to that he was Hyman Professor and Director of China Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Lampton is former Chairman of the The Asia Foundation, former President of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, and former Dean of Faculty at SAIS. Among many written works, academic and popular is his most recent book (with Selina Ho and Cheng-Chwee Kuik), Rivers of Iron: Railroads and Chinese Power in Southeast Asia (University of California Press, 2020). He received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University in political science where, as an undergraduate student, he was a firefighter. Lampton has an honorary doctorate from the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Far Eastern Studies. He served for many years on the Board of Trustees of Colorado College and was in the US Army Reserve in the enlisted and commissioned ranks.

photo of deborah lehrDeborah Lehr is the Vice Chairman and Executive Director of the Paulson Institute. In that capacity, she advises the Chairman on U.S.–China relations as well as oversees the development and implementation of Paulson Institute programs and initiatives. In addition, Ms. Lehr manages the Green Finance Center for the Paulson Institute.

Ms. Lehr has served in the public, private and not for profit sectors focused on China, the Middle East and emerging markets. She advised Mr. Paulson when he was the CEO and Chairman of Goldman Sachs and helped then-Treasury Secretary Paulson to create and launch the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue.

In addition, she served as Senior Advisor to the Chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch and was a Senior Managing Director at the New York Stock Exchange. Ms. Lehr has built several successful consulting businesses, including as a partner at Mayer Brown, a top-10 law firm, as President of Stonebridge China and then with her own firm, Basilinna. Basilinna is focused on China and the Middle East.

Ms. Lehr also served in the U.S. Government in the Executive Office of the President as a Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China, where she was a lead negotiator for China’s accession to the World Trade Organization, for two intellectual property rights negotiations and on the team for the 1992 Market Access Agreement. Also, Ms. Lehr was one of the youngest Directors of Asian Affairs at the National Security Council. Previous to that, she was involved in export control and trade policy issues at the Department of Commerce.

As the Founder and Chairman of the Antiquities Coalition, she works with governments around the world to fight against the illicit trade in antiquities. She serves on the International Advisory Board of the London School of Economics, the World Monuments Fund Board and the Middle East Institute Board. Ms. Lehr is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. UNESCO listed Ms. Lehr on its inaugural list of accomplished global women. She also received the prestigious Hadrian Award from the World Monument Fund for her work in fighting the illicit trade in antiquities.

Ms. Lehr has lived and studied around the world, including China, England, France, and Germany. Her writings have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Foreign Affairs, South China Morning Post, U.S. News and World Report, Caixin Magazine, and Xinhua.net, among others.

About the Moderator: 

photo of Barbara StallingsBarbara Stallings is William R. Rhodes Research Professor at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University and editor of Studies in Comparative International Development. She is also a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Institute for International Economic Policy at George Washington University. Before arriving at Brown in 2002, she was director of the Economic Development Division of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in Santiago, Chile (1993–2002), and professor of political economy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (1977–1993). She has doctorates in economics (University of Cambridge) and in political science (Stanford University) and is a specialist in development economics, with an emphasis on development strategies and international finance. In addition, she works on issues of economic relations between Asia and Latin America and comparisons between the two regions. Her recent books are Innovation and Inclusion in Latin America: Strategies to Avoid the Middle Income Trap (2016) and Promoting Development: The Political Economy of East Asian Foreign Aid (2017). Her most recent book, Dependency in the Twenty-First Century? The Political Economy of China-Latin America Relations (2020), was selected as one of Foreign Affairs’ best books of 2020. She has taught at various universities in China and elsewhere in Asia; currently she is a distinguished visiting professor at the Schwarzman Program at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

7th Annual Conference Washington Area Development Economics Symposium (WADES)

Friday, April 5, 2019
Center for Global Development
2055 L St NW, 5th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20036

The Washington Area Development Economics Symposium (WADES) is an annual research conference which highlights academic work from researchers at leading economics institutions in development economics in the Washington DC area. Researchers from George Washington University, University of Maryland, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Virginia, the World Bank, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), American University, George Mason University, and the Center for Global Development are all participants in the symposium.

Conference Organizers:
Remi Jedwab, George Washington University
Jessica Goldberg, University of Maryland
Molly Lipscomb, University of Virginia
Andrew Zeitlin, Georgetown University

Agenda

8:30 – 9:00: Registration

9:00 – 9:45: Faculty Presentation:

“The Sustainability of Early Education Interventions: Do Learning Gains and Improved Teacher Practices Persist?” Jacobus Cilliers (Georgetown University)

9:45 – 10:30: Graduate Student Presentation:

“The gains from market integration: Rural roads, and separability of production and consumption decisions in smallholder farms” Hundanol Kebede (University of Virginia), Discussant: Jessica Goldberg (University of Maryland)

10:30 – 10:45: Coffee Break

10:45 – 11:30: Graduate Student Presentation:

“Measuring External Validity” Hao Bo (University of Maryland), Discussant: Owen Ozier (World Bank)
11:30 – 12:15 Faculty presentation: “Repelling Rape: Foreign Direct Investment Empowers Women” Sheetal Sekhri (University of Virginia)

12:15 – 1:00: Lunch

1:00 – 1:45: Graduate Student Presentation:

“The Precocious Period: Menarche, Education and Marriage in India” Madhulika Khanna (Georgetown University), Discussant: Pamela Jakiela (Center for Global Development)

1:45 – 2:30: Graduate Student Presentation:

“The Silenced Women: An Investigation on Reporting of Violence Against Women” Abhilasha Sahay (George Washington University), Discussant: Kelly Jones (American University)

2:30 – 3:15: Faculty Presentation:

“Peer effects on Violence: Experimental Evidence in El Salvador” Lelys Dinarte (World Bank)

3:15 – 3:30: Coffee Break

3:30 – 4:15: Faculty Presentation:

“Including Males: Improving Sexual and Reproductive Health for Female Adolescents” Jennifer Muz (George Washington University)

4:15 – 5:00: Faculty Presentation:

“Persuasion by Populist Propaganda: Individual Level Evidence from the 2015 Argentine Ballotage” Sebastian Galiani (University of Maryland)

Mardi Dungey Memorial Research Conference

Mardi Dungey Memorial Research Conference
Friday, February 21, 2020
8:00 am – 5:30 pm (Conference)
5:30pm – 7:30 pm (Reception)
Lindner Commons, Suite 602
1957 E St NW
Washington, D.C. 20052

On behalf of the Institute for International Economic Policy, the Research Program on Forecasting, the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, University of Tasmania, and the Society for Nonlinear Dynamics and Econometrics, you are cordially invited to the Mardi Dungey Memorial Research Conference on February 21, 2020. The event is named in honor of Mardi Dungey, Professor of Economics and Finance at the University of Tasmania, Adjunct Professor and Program Director, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, ANU, Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Financial Analysis and Policy at Cambridge University, and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.

Agenda

8:00am- 8:45am: Breakfast

8:45am – 9:10am

Introduction, Stephen Smith, Chair, Department of Economics and Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Institute for International Economic Policy, GWU

Opening Remarks, Tara Sinclair, George Washington University

9:10 – 9:30am: A Panel on Mardi Dungey’s Contributions

Vanessa Smith, University of York

Renee Fry-McKibbin, Australian National University

Warwick McKibbin, Australian National University

Chaired by: Renee Fry-McKibbin, Australian National University

9:30 – 10:30am

Econometrics of Option Pricing with Stochastic Volatility, Eric Renault, University of Warwick

Chaired by: Vance Martin, University of Melbourne

10:30 – 11:00am: Coffee Break

11:00 – 11:45am

Leaning Against the Wind: An Empirical Cost-Benefit Analysis, Gaston Gelos, International Monetary Fund

Chaired by: Tara Sinclair, George Washington University

11:45am – 12:30pm

The Gains from Catch-up for China and the U.S.: An Empirical Framework, Denise Osborn, University of Manchester

Chaired by: Simon van Norden, HEC Montréal, CIREQ & CIRANO

12:30 – 1:30pm: Lunch Break

1:30 – 2:30pm

Measurement of Factor Strength: Theory and Practice, Hashem Pesaran, Cambridge University

Chaired by: Nigel Ray, International Monetary Fund

2:30 – 2:45pm: Coffee Break

2:45 – 3:30pm

Inflation: Expectations, Structural Breaks, and Global Factors, Pierre Siklos, Wilfrid Laurier University

Chaired by: Gerald Dwyer, Clemson University

3:30 – 4:15pm

Multivariate Trend-Cycle-Seasonal Decomposition with Correlated Innovations, Jing Tian, University of Tasmania

Chaired by: Edda Claus, Wilfrid Laurier University

4:15 – 4:30pm: Coffee Break

4:30 – 5:15pm

The Center and the Periphery: Two Hundred Years of International Borrowing Cycles, Graciela Kaminsky, George Washington University

Chaired by: Brenda Gonzalez-Hermosillo, International Monetary Fund

5:15 – 5:30pm: Closing Remarks

Marty Robinson, Australian Treasury

Vladimir Volkov, University of Tasmania

Warwick McKibbin, Australian National University

Chaired by: Renee Fry-McKibbin, Australian National University

5:30 – 7:30pm: Reception

2nd Annual Washington Area Labor Economics Symposium (WALES)

February 28th, 2020
8:30 am to 5:00 pm
Linder Family Commons, Suite 602
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St NW
Washington, D.C. 20052

WALES is a one-day labor economics conference that brings together researchers from DC-area institutions. The goal is to provide an outlet to share work in progress and get to know other researchers. Breakfast, lunch and coffee will be served.

Click here to find an archive of the previous WALES conferences.

Agenda 

8:15am- 8:50am: Breakfast & Welcome

8:45am-9:00am: Welcome Bryan Stuart and TBD

Session 1: Recessions and the Labor Market

9:00am-9:30pm: “The Long-Lived Cyclicality of the Labor Force Participation Rate”, Joshua

Montes, Federal Reserve, with Tomaz Cajner and John Coglianese

9:30am-10:00am: “Did Timing Matter? Life Cycle Differences in Exposure to the Great Recession”,

Kevin Rinz, Census Bureau 

10:00am-10:30am: “Excess Capacity and Heterogeneity in the Fiscal Multiplier: Evidence from the

Obama Stimulus Package”, Thomas Hegland, Agency for Healthcare Research and

Quality with Arindrajit Dube, Ethan Kaplan, and Ben Zipperer

10:30am-11:00am: Coffee Break

Session 2: Discrimination

11:00am-11:30am: “Gender Bias and Intergenerational Educational Mobility: Theory and Evidence

from China and India”, Forhad Shilpi, World Bank with M. Shahe Emran and

Hanchen Jiang

11:30am- 12:00pm: “In-group Bias and the Police: Evidence from Award Nominations”, Nayoung

Rim, US Naval Academy, with Bocar Ba and Roman Rivera

12:00pm- 1:30pm: Lunch & Poster Session

Session 3: Public Sector Employment

1:30pm-2:00pm: “Managers and Productivity in the Public Sector”, Alessandra Fenizia, GWU

2:00pm-2:30pm: “Recruitment, effort, and retention effects of performance contracts for civil

servants: Experimental evidence from Rwandan primary schools”, Andrew Zeitlin,

Georgetown University, with Clare Leaver, Owen Ozier, and Pieter Serneelsz

2:30pm-2:50pm: Coffee Break

Session 4: Labor Supply

2:50pm-3:20pm: “Rural Labor Market Responses to Large Lumpy Cash Transfers: Evidence from

Malawi”, Kate Ambler, International Food Policy Research Institute, with Alan de

Brauw and Susan Godlonton

3:20pm-3:50pm: “Hope for the Family: The Effects of College Costs on Maternal Labor Supply”,

Breno Braga, Urban Institute, with Olga Malkova

3:50pm-4:00pm: Break

Session 5: Education and the Labor Market

4:00pm-4:30pm: “Inequality and Wage Dynamics by Academic Majors”, Natalia Radchenko,

American University, with Natalia Kyui 

4:30:pm-5:00pm: “Do Postsecondary Training Programs Respond to Changes in the Labor Market?”,

Michel Grosz, FTC

5:00pm-6:00pm: Reception

Posters

Miriam Bruhn, World Bank, “The Impact of Mobile Money on Poor Rural Households: Experimental Evidence from Uganda” (with Christina Wieser, Johannes Kinzinger, Christian Ruckteschler, Soren Heitmann)

Elizabeth Anna Weber Handwerker, Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Variation in the Impact of Explicit Oligopsony by Occupation” (with Matthew Dey)

Kelly Jones, American University, Reducing Maternal Labor Market Detachment: A role for Paid Family Leave (with Britni Wilcher)

Joshua Mask, University of Illinois Chicago, “Consequences of Immigrating During a Recession: Evidence from the US Refugee Resettlement Program”

Daniela Morar, Yale University, “Foreign TAs and student STEM outcomes”

Dani Sandler, Census Bureau, “Maternal Labor Dynamics: Participation, Earnings, and Employer Changes” (with Nichole Szembrot)

Tara Sinclair, George Washington University, “Mismatch in Online Job Search” (with Martha Gimbel)

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Digital Trade

Thursday, October 31, 2019
12:00 p.m.-1:30 p.m.

Lindner Family Commons, Room 602
1957 E Street NW
Washington, D.C 20052

Data has become the most traded good and/or service across borders. The American economy is increasingly reliant on digital trade. But the US does not yet participate in any explicit binding digital trade agreements. Meanwhile, many countries have adopted policies that inhibit digital trade, including requirements that data be stored locally or restricting services provided by foreign firms. Such policies not only affect U.S. Internet and technology firms, but the users and small businesses that rely on an open digital environment.

There have been lots of panels on digital trade, but this event will provide an opportunity to better understand why data is governed in trade agreements, what are the barriers to digital trade, and how digital trade rules may affect important policy objectives such as internet openness, the gig economy, innovation, and national security.​

PANELISTS:
Matthew Reisman
Microsoft
Meredith Broadbent
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Rachael Stelly
Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA)
Burcu Kilic
Public Citizen

MODERATOR:
Susan Aaronson
Research Professor, GWU and Director, Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub

This event is co-sponsored by the Institute for International Economic Policy (IIEP at GWU), the Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub, and the Internet Society DC (ISOC-DC). This event is also organized in conjunction with the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA).

IMF October 2019 World Economic Outlook

Friday, November 1, 2019
9:30a.m. – 12:15p.m.
Lindner Family Commons (6th Floor)
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW Washington, DC 20052

Schedule of Events 

9:00 a.m. – Breakfast and Registration

9:30 a.m. – Opening Remarks
                     James Foster, Director, Institute for International Economic Policy,
                    GWU

9:45 a.m. – Chapter 1:Global Prospects and Policies
                     Presenter: Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti

10:15 a.m. – Coffee Break

10:30 a.m. – Chapter 2: Closer Together or Further Apart? Subnational Regional
                     Disparities and Adjustment in Advanced Economies

                     Presenter: Natalija Novta
                     Discussant: Ryan Nunn

Chapter 2 of the latest World Economic Outlook examines the rise in within-country regional disparities in economic performance across advanced economies.  The chapter explores how lagging regions differ from the rest, in terms of demographics, labor market outcomes, sectoral labor productivity and sectoral employment. It also explores how regions adjust to trade and technology shocks, comparing lagging to other regions.

11:15 a.m. – Coffee Break

11:30 a.m. – Chapter 3: Reigniting Growth in Emerging Market and Low-Income
                     Economies: What Role for Structural Reforms?

                     Presenter: Cian Ruane
                     Discussant: Danny Leipziger

The forthcoming IMF World Economic Outlook analytical chapter provides new evidence on the short-to-medium-term effects of reforms, based on a newly constructed database of reforms in domestic and external finance, trade, labor and product markets. The chapter discusses sources of cross-country heterogeneity in reform payoffs, including the role of governance and informality in mediating the gains from reforms, and  political economy issues related to reform implementation.

12:15 p.m. – Concluding Remarks

12:30 p.m. –  Lunch

 

12th Annual Conference on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Relations

Friday, November 8th, 2019

Lindner Family Commons, 6th Floor

Elliott School for International Affairs

1957 E Street, NW Washington DC 20052

Schedule of Events

08:15-08:50:  Coffee and Registration

08:50-09:00:  Welcoming Remarks: James Foster (IIEP Director, GWU)


09:00-09:45: Keynote:

Daniel Xu (Duke University): “Fiscal Policies and Firm Investment in China”

09:45-10:45: The Political Economy of Protests

Moderator: Bruce Dickson (GWU)

David Yang (Harvard University): “Persistent Political Engagement: Social Interactions and the Dynamics of Protest Movements”

Davin Chor (Dartmouth College): The Political Economy Consequences of China’s Export Slowdown”. Chor’s work is available here.

10:45-11:15: Coffee Break

11:15-12:15: Capital Market Liberalization and Industrial Policy

Moderator: Chao Wei (GWU)

John Rogers (Federal Reserve Board): “The Effect of the China Connect”

Wenli Li (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia): “Demographic Aging, Industrial Policy, and Chinese Economic Growth”. Li’s work is available here.

12:15-13:15: Lunch and Poster Session

13:15–14:30: Policy Keynotes:

Chad Bown (Peterson Institute for International Economics): “The U.S.-China trade relationship under the Trump administration”. Bown’s work is available here 

David Shambaugh (GWU): “Stresses and Strains in U.S.-China Relations: Origins, Consequences, and Outlook”

14:30-15:00: Coffee Break

15:00-16:00: Industrial Policy, Technology Transfer, and Financial Access

Moderator: Maggie Chen (GWU)

Jie Bai (Harvard University): “Quid Pro Quo, Knowledge Spillovers and Industrial Quality Upgrading”

Jing Cai (University of Maryland): “Direct and Indirect Effects of Financial Access on SMEs”

16:00-17:00: The Belt and Road Initiative

Moderator: Stephen Kaplan (GWU)

Jamie P. Horsley (Brookings Institution): “Belt & Road Governance Challenges and Developments”

Scott Morris (Center for Global Development): “Belt & Road’s Debt and Project Risks”

An archive of all previous Annual Conferences on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations is available here.

For more information, please contact Kyle Renner at iiep@gwu.edu or 202-994-5320.

Cosponsored by:

9th Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) Conference

The 9th Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) will be held on:

Friday, April 26, 2019
8:15 a.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Lindner Family Commons (6th Floor)
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW

The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Conference Program

08:15-08:55

Breakfast
08:55-09:00  Opening Remarks: Maggie ChenDirector, Institute for International Economic Policy, George Washington University
9:00-9:45

“Regional Spillovers through Multi-Market Firms: The Product Replacement Channel”

  • Presenter: Ryan KimSchool of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
  • Discussant: Ana FernandesWorld Bank
9:45-10:30

“Non-Tariff Barriers and Bargaining in Generic Pharmaceuticals”

  • Presenter: Sharat GanapatiGeorgetown University
  • Discussant: Gloria SheuDepartment of Justice
10:30-11:00 Coffee Break
11:00-11:45

“Training and Labor Adjustment to Trade”

  • Presenter: Marisol Rodriguez ChatrucInter-American Development Bank
  • Discussant: Claire BrunelAmerican University
11:45-12:30

“Trade, Jobs, and Worker Welfare”

  • Presenter: Eunhee LeeUniversity of Maryland
  • Discussant: Ricardo Reyes-HerolesFederal Reserve Board
12:30-13:15 Lunch
13:15-14:00

“Family Leave Law and the Demand for Female Labor: Evidence from a Trade Shock”

  • Presenter: Fariha KamalU.S. Census Bureau
  • Discussant: Mina KimBureau of Labor Statistics
14:00-14:45

“Robots, Tasks, and Trade”

  • Presenter: Erhan ArtucWorld Bank
  • Discussant: Heiwai TangJohns Hopkins University
14:45-15:00 Coffee Break
15:00-15:45

“Testing Stolper-Samuelson with a Natural Experiment”

  • Presenter: Dan BernhofenAmerican University
  • Discussant: Colin HottmanFederal Reserve Board
15:45-16:30

 “What are the Price Effects of Trade: Evidence from the U.S. and Implications for Quantitative Trade Models”

  • Presenter: Erick SagerFederal Reserve Board
  • Discussant: Paul PiveteauJohns Hopkins University
 16:30-17:15

“Your (Country’s) Reputation Precedes You: Information Asymmetry, Externalities and the Quality of Exports”

  • Presenter: Yingyan ZhaoPenn State University and George Washington University
  • Discussant: Paulo BastosWorld Bank

 

IMF Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Economic Outlook (REO)

Thursday, May 9, 2019
10:00am to 12:00pm

 
Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

Schedule:

10 a.m.

Welcome Remarks by Maggie Chen and Jennifer Cooke 

10:05 a.m. Opening remarks and REO summary – Mahvash S. Qureshi 
10:20 a.m. “The Economic Consequences of Conflict” – Shanta Devarajan
10:40 a.m. Discussant remarks and presenter response 
10:55 a.m. Audience Q&A
11:10 a.m.

“Is the African Continental Free Trade Area a Game Changer for the Continent?” – Jason Weiss and Yunhui Zhao

Florie Liser, President and CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa

11:30 a.m. Discussant remarks and presenter response – Discussant (TBD)
11:45 a.m. Audience Q&A
12:00 p.m.   Event conclusion

 

SUMMARY Chapter – Presented by Mahvash S. Qureshi - IMF

The economic recovery in sub-Saharan Africa continues. Regional growth is set to pick up from 3.0 percent in 2018 to 3.5 percent in 2019, before stabilizing at about 4.0 percent over the medium term. These region‑wide statistics mask considerable heterogeneity in the growth performance and prospects of countries across the region. About half of the countries—mostly non-resource-intensive—are expected to grow at 5 percent or more, implying that their per capita incomes over the medium term would rise faster than the average for the rest of the world. For other countries (mostly resource intensive), improvements in living standards will be slower. Notwithstanding these different economic prospects, countries share the challenge of strengthening resilience and creating higher, more inclusive and durable growth. Addressing these challenges requires enhancing resilience to shocks by building fiscal space including through revenue mobilization, boosting productivity, and spurring private investment.

 

The two analytical chapters in the REO focus on the economic costs of conflicts in the region and the implications of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF CONFLICT: presented by Siddharth Kothari

This chapter explores the challenges faced by conflict-affected countries in sub-Saharan Africa, providing a comprehensive analysis of the trends and economic consequences of conflicts. Although the intensity of conflicts in recent years is lower than that observed in the 1990s, the region remains prone to conflicts, with around 30 percent of the countries affected in 2017. Moreover, the nature of conflicts has changed, with traditional civil wars being replaced by non-state-based conflicts, including the targeting of civilians through terrorist attacks. Conflicts in the region are associated with a large and persistent decline in per capita GDP and have significant spillover effects on nearby regions and countries. They also pose significant strains on countries’ public finances, lowering revenue, raising military spending, and shifting resources away from development and social spending, which further aggravates the conflicts’ economic and social costs. The findings highlight the significant costs and formidable challenges faced by countries suffering from conflict and underscores the need to prevent conflicts, including by promoting inclusive economic development, building institutional capacity, and social cohesion. For countries in conflict, efforts should focus on limiting the loss of human and physical capital by protecting social and development spending. While this may be especially daunting given fiscal pressures, well-targeted and coordinated humanitarian aid and concessional financial assistance can provide some relief.

Is The African Continental Free Trade Area A Game Changer For The Continent?

potential benefits and challenges of implementing the AfCFTA. The AfCFTA agreement envisions elimination of tariffs on most goods, liberalization of trade of key services, addressing nontariff obstacles that hamper intraregional trade, and eventually creating a continental single market with free movement of labor and capital. The AfCFTA will likely have important macroeconomic and distributional effects. It can significantly boost intra-African trade, particularly if countries tackle nontariff bottlenecks to trade, including physical infrastructure, logistical costs, and other trade facilitation hurdles. The picture is not uniform. More diversified economies and those with better logistics and infrastructure will benefit relatively more from trade integration. Fiscal revenue losses from tariff reductions are likely to be limited on average, with a few exceptions. Moreover, deeper trade integration is associated with a temporary increase in income inequality. The findings suggest that, in addition to tariff reductions, policy efforts to boost regional trade should focus on reforms to address country-specific nontariff bottlenecks. To ensure that the benefits of regional trade integration are shared by all, policymakers should be mindful of the adjustment costs that integration may entail. For less developed and agriculture-based economies, trade policies should be combined with structural reforms to improve agricultural productivity and competitiveness. Furthermore, governments should facilitate the reallocation of labor and capital across sectors (for example, active-labor market programs such as training and job-search assistance, and measures that enhance competitiveness and productivity) and bolster safety nets (income support and social insurance programs) to alleviate the temporary adverse effects on the most vulnerable.

Washington Area Labor Economics Symposium

Friday, March 29th 2019

8:30 AM – 5:00 PM

Lindner Family Commons

Information:

  • WALES is a one-day labor economics conference that brings together researchers from several DC institutions. The goal is to provide an outlet to share work in progress and get to know other researchers. Researchers from the George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the University of Maryland, the Urban Institute and the World Bank will be participating in the symposium. Breakfast, lunch and coffee will be served.

 

8:30-8:50                    Light breakfast

 

8:50-9:00                    Opening remarks

 

9:00-9:40                    Tomas Monarrez (Urban Institute). “The Effect of Charter Schools on School Segregation”

 

9:40-10:20                  Nolan Pope (Maryland). “Timing is Everything: Evidence from College Major Decisions”

 

10:20-10:40                Coffee Break

 

10:40-11:20                Claire Brunel (American). “Climate Change and Internal Migration in Brazil: The Role of Geography and Road Infrastructure” (with Yuanyuan Maggie Liu)

 

11:20-12:00                Mary Ann Bronson (Georgetown). “The Wage Growth and Within-Firm Mobility of Men and Women: New Evidence and Theory” (with Peter Skogman)

 

12:00-1:00                  Lunch

 

1:00-1:40                    John Coglianese (Federal Reserve). “Household Adaption to Seasonal Earnings Losses” (with Brendan Price)

 

1:40-2:20                    Ana Fernandes and Joana Silva (World Bank). “Transmission of Foreign Business Cycles and Financial Shocks through the Lens of Individual Firms and Workers”

 

 

2:20-2:30                    Coffee Break

 

2:30-3:10                    Bryan Stuart (GWU). “Recessions and Local Labor Markets” (with Brad Hershbein)

 

3:10-3:50                    James Spletzer (Census). “The Gig Economy and the Future of Work” (with Katharine Abraham, John Haltiwanger, and Kristin Sandusky)

 

3:50-4:00                    Mini coffee break

 

4:00-4:15                    Remi Jedwab (GWU). “Returns to Experience and Economic Growth” (with Asif Islam and Paul Romer)

 

4:15-4:30                    Xavier Gine (World Bank). “Breaking the Glass Ceiling? Evidence from Female Mobile Money Agents in Bangladesh”

 

4:30-4:45                    Austin Davis (American). “Missing Skills and Mobility Frictions: An Experiment in Urbanizing India”

 

4:45-5:00                    Fredric Blavin (Urban Institute). “The Long-Term Effects of Childhood Exposure to the Earned Income Tax Credit on Outcomes”

The International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook

We are delighted to invite you to the International Monetary Fund’s 2018 World Economic Outlook at the George Washington University. The talk will consist of three sections, starting with an overview of global prospects and policies and then moving onto a discussion of the global recovery 10 years after the global financial crisis and challenges for monetary policy in emerging economies.

 

Tuesday, November 6, 2018
9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
The Commons, 6th Floor
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052

Schedule of Events

9:30 –  9:45 a.m. Opening Remarks

  • Maggie Chen, George Washington University

9:45 – 10:15 a.m. Chapter 1: Global Prospects and Policies

  • Presenter: Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti, International Monetary Fund

10:15 – 10:30 a.m. Coffee Break

10:30 – 11:15 a.m. Chapter 2:  The Global Recovery 10 Years after the 2008 Financial Meltdown

  • Presenter: Wenjie Chen, International Monetary Fund
  • Discussant: David Dollar, Brookings Institute

11:15 – 11:30 a.m. Coffee Break

11:30 – 12:15 p.m. Chapter 3:  Challenges for Monetary Policy in Emerging Economies as Global Financial Conditions Normalize

  • Presenter: Rudolfs Bems, International Monetary Fund
  • Discussant: Jay Shambaugh, George Washington University

12:15 p.m. Concluding remarks

Chapter 1: Global Prospects and Policies

Global growth for 2018–19 is projected to remain steady at its 2017 level, but its pace is less vigorous than projected in April and it has become less balanced. Downside risks to global growth have risen in the past six months and the potential for upside surprises has receded. Global growth is projected at 3.7 percent for 2018–19—0.2 percentage point lower for both years than forecast in April. The downward revision reflects surprises that suppressed activity in early 2018 in some major advanced economies, the negative effects of the trade measures implemented or approved between April and mid-September, as well as a weaker outlook for some key emerging market and developing economies arising from country-specific factors, tighter financial conditions, geopolitical tensions, and higher oil import bills.

Chapter 2:  The Global Recovery 10 Years after the 2008 Financial Meltdown

This chapter takes stock of the global economic recovery a decade after the 2008 financial crisis. Output losses after the crisis appear to be persistent, irrespective of whether a country suffered a banking crisis in 2007–08. Sluggish investment was a key channel through which these losses registered, accompanied by long-lasting capital and total factor productivity shortfalls relative to precrisis trends. Policy choices preceding the crisis and in its immediate aftermath influenced postcrisis variation in output. Underscoring the importance of macroprudential policies and effective supervision, countries with greater financial vulnerabilities in the precrisis years suffered larger output losses after the crisis. Countries with stronger precrisis fiscal positions and those with more flexible exchange rate regimes experienced smaller losses. Unprecedented and exceptional policy actions taken after the crisis helped mitigate countries’ postcrisis output losses.

Chapter 3:  Challenges for Monetary Policy in Emerging Economies as Global Financial Conditions Normalize

Inflation in emerging market and developing economies since the mid-2000s has, on average, been low and stable. This chapter investigates whether these recent gains in inflation performance are sustainable as global financial conditions normalize. The findings are as follows: first, despite the overall stability, sizable heterogeneity in inflation performance and in variability of longer-term inflation expectations remains among emerging markets. Second, changes in longer-term inflation expectations are the main determinant of inflation, while external conditions play a more limited role, suggesting that domestic, not global, factors are the main contributor to the recent gains in inflation performance. Third, further improvements in the extent of anchoring of inflation expectations can significantly improve economic resilience to adverse external shocks in emerging markets. Anchoring reduces inflation persistence and limits the pass-through of currency depreciations to domestic prices, allowing monetary policy to focus more on smoothing fluctuations in output.

11th Annual Conference on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations

We are delighted to invite you to the 11th annual conference on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations at GWU. The importance of understanding China’s economic development has only become more important over the last decade. Understanding the structural building blocks of domestic Chinese economic activity is as necessary as understanding China’s foreign economic activity, whether regionally across the globe or in it’s interactions with the United States.  Amidst talk of a “trade war” between the U.S. and China, it is vital that we have a shared understanding of what is taking place within the Chinese economy, how that affects relations with the U.S., and what it means for China’s global ambitions. We look forward to hosting you on the 26th to continue studying these important questions. For information on previous conferences, see our signature initiatives page. The entire conference can be viewed here.

Schedule of Events

08:15-08:50:  Coffee and Registration

08:50-09:00:  Welcoming Remarks: Maggie Chen (IIEP Director, GWU) 

09:00-09:45: Keynote: Hanming Fang (University of Pennsylvania) (Watch Video)

“Growing Pains” in the Chinese Social Security System

09:45-10:45: Trends in China’s Macro Economy (Watch Video)

                              Moderator: Chao Wei (GWU)

Kaiji Chen (Emory University): Macroeconomic Impacts of China’s Financial Policies”

Grace Li (IMF): The State and China’s Productivity Deceleration: Firm-level Evidence

10:45-11:00: Coffee Break

11:00-12:00: Technology, Institution and Firm Growth (Watch Video)

                              Moderator: Susan Aaronson (GWU)

Nancy Qian (Northwestern University): The Dynamic Effects of Computerization on VAT in China”

Maggie Chen (GWU): “’Omnia Juncta in Uno’: Foreign Powers, Institutions and Firms in Shanghai’s Concession Era”

12:00-12:50: Lunch 

12:50-13:00: Remarks by Elliott School Dean, Ambassador Reuben Brigety II

13:00-13:45: Keynote: Caroline Freund (World Bank)

                              “U.S.-China Trade Tensions” (Watch Video)

13:45-14:45: The Myths of U.S.-China Trade War (Watch Video)

                              Moderator: Steve Suranovic (GWU)

Jiandong Ju (Tsinghua University): US-China Trade Dispute and Restructuring the Globalization”

Mary Lovely (Peterson Institute for International Economics): China’s Techno-Industrial FDI Policy”

14:45-15:00: Coffee Break

15:00-16:00: Going Out: China’s Aid, Investment, and Finance to Developing Countries

                              Moderator: Joseph Pelzman (GWU)

Barbara Stallings (Brown and GWU): “China and its Neighbors: Aid and Investment in East Asia”

Stephen Kaplan (GWU): The Rise of Patient Capital: The Political Economy of Chinese Finance in the Western Hemisphere”

16:00-17:00: Gender, Migration and Labor Market in China (Watch Video)

                              Moderator: Yao Pan (Aalto University)

Peter Kuhn (UC – Santa Barbara): Gender-Targeted Job Ads in the Recruitment Process:  Evidence from China”

Suqin Ge (Virginia Tech): Assimilation and the Wage Growth of Rural-to-Urban Migrants in China”

An archive of all previous Annual Conferences on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations is available here.

For more information, please contact Kyle Renner at iiep@gwu.edu or 202-994-5320.

Cosponsored by:

5th Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Research Conference

 

Friday, September 7, 2018
8:30am to 7:30pm

Preston Auditorium, The World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, D.C., 20433

Across the developing world, the growth of cities is outpacing effective policy. Low density land use results in rapidly expanding cities, raising the costs of infrastructure and service provision and limiting liveability and productivity. At the same time, limited investments in transport infrastructure such as roads limits the connectivity between individuals and opportunities that make cities engines for growth. Effective policy to address these challenges requires an understanding of the spatial organisation of cities, and how the distribution of private and public investments across a city affect economic growth.

On 7 September 2018, the 5th Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Conference will bring together academics and development practitioners to present and discuss questions relating to the spatial organisation of cities and economic growth. In particular, the conference will be focusing on effective land and transport policy in cities and the implications of urban development for national growth. This conference is hosted by the World Bank (Development Research Group), George Washington University (Institute for International Economic Policy),  the International Monetary Fund, and the International Growth Centre.

 

  • 8:30-9:00 – Coffee and Registration
  • 9:00-10:45 – Welcoming Remarks
    • Chair and Moderator: 
      Shantayanan Devarajan
      Senior Director, Development Economics, World Bank
    • Panelists:
      Aisa Kirabo Kacyira
      Deputy Director UN-Habitat, former mayor of Kigali
      Edward Glaeser
      Professor of Economics, Harvard and International Growth Center
  • 10:45-11:00 – Coffee Break
  • 11:00 -12:30 – Session One: Land
    • Mini Keynote: Informal Land Use
      Harris Selod
      Development Research Group, The World Bank
    • Backyarding
      Jan Brueckner, Claus Rabe, and Harris Selod
    • Compactness
      Vernon Henderson
    • Chair:
      TBC
    • Discussant: 
      Mariaflavia Harari
      Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania
  • 12:30-13:30 – Lunch
  • 13.30-14:15 – Keynote Address:
    • The Geography of Development
      Esteban Rossi-Hansberg
      Princeton University
    • Chair:
      Asli Demirguc-Kunt
      Research Director, Development Research Group, World Bank
  • 14:15 -15:45 – Session Two: Transportation
    • Mini Keynote: “Cars in Cities”
      Matthew Kahn
    • Transport in a Congested City – A Computer Equilibrium Model Applied to Kampala City
      Louise Bernard, Julia Bird, Tony Venables
    • Who Wins? Who Loses? Understanding the Spatially Differentiated Effects of Belt and Road within Central Asia
      Bader El Hifnawy, Somik Lall, Mathilde Lebrand
    • Chair:
      Marianna Fay
      Chief Economist, Climate Change
    • Discussant:
      Leah Brooks
      Assistant Professor, George Washington University
  • 15:45-16:00 – Coffee Break
  • 16:00-17:30 – Session Three: Urbanization, Growth, and Development
    • Mini Keynote:
      Douglas Gollin
    • In Search of a Spatial Equilibrium in the Developing World
      Douglas Gollin, Martina Kirchberger, David Lagakos
    • Modern Urban Technology and the Future of the New Urban Giants
      Remi Jedwab, Prakash Loungani, Anthony Yezer
    • Chair:
      Chris Papageorgiou
      International Monetary Fund
    • Discussant:
      Deniz Igan
      Deputy Division Chief, Research Department’s Macro Financial Division, IMF
  • 17:30-18:00 – Break
  • 18:00-19:30 – Cocktail Reception and Welcome Speech by Maggie Chen
    • At George Washington University, Lindner Commons Room (6th Floor) of the Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E St. N.W. (at the intersection of E and 19th Streets, on E Street), Washington, DC.

8th Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) Conference

Friday, April 27, 2018

Inter-American Development Bank CR-200
1330 New York Avenue NW
Washington DC 20577

The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions. Please note that WAITS conferences are open to the public but participants are asked to register here.

View the Schedule
8:15 – 8:50 AM: Continental Breakfast and Registration
8:50 – 9:00 AM: Opening Remarks
Antoni Estevadeordal, Manager, Integration and Trade Sector, Inter-American Development Bank
Mike Moore, George Washington University
9:00 – 9:45 AM: Policy Credibility and Firm Growth in the Global Economy
Nuno Limao, University of Maryland
Discussant: Luciana Juvenal, IMF
9:45 – 10:30 AM: Uncertainty and Trade Elasticities
Olga Timoshenko, George Washington University
Discussant: Ina Simonovska, University of Maryland
10:30 – 10:45 AM: Coffee Break
10:45 – 11:30 AM: Information and Exports: Firm-Level Evidence From an Online Platform
Christian Volpe Martincus, Inter-American Development Bank
Discussant: Maggie Chen, George Washington University
11:30 – 12:15 PM: The Impact of Trade on Managerial Incentives and Productivity
Cristina Tello-Trillo, U.S. Census Bureau
Discussant: Anna Maria Mayda, Georgetown University
12:15 – 1:00 PM: Investment Responses to Trade Liberalization: Evidence from U.S. Industries and Establishments
Justin Pierce, Federal Reserve Board
Discussant: Fariha Kamal, U.S. Census Bureau
1:00 – 2:00 PM: Lunch (Provided)
2:00 – 2:45 PM: Goods and Factor Market Integration: A Quantitative Assessment of the EU Enlargement
Fernando Parro, SAIS– Johns Hopkins University
Discussant: Mariano Somale, Federal Reserve Board
2:45 – 3:30 PM: Assessing Market (Dis) Integration in Pre-Modern China and Europe Dan Bernhofen, American University
Discussant: Paulo Bastos, World Bank
3:30 – 3:45 PM: Coffee Break
3:45 – 4:30 PM: The Trade Effects of the New Silk Road
Michele Ruta, World Bank
Discussant: Mauricio Mesquita Moreira, Inter-American Development Bank
4:30 – 5:15 PM: How Does Industry Comparative Advantage Affect Establishments?
Serge Shikher, USITC
Discussant: Kara Reynolds, American University
5:15 – 6:00 PM: Endogenous Trade Policy in a Global Value Chain: Evidence from Chinese Micro-level Processing Trade
Rod Ludema, Georgetown University
Discussant: Paul Piveteau, SAIS– Johns Hopkins University
6:00 – 6:15 PM: Closing Remarks
Aaron Flaaen, Federal Reserve Board
Christian Volpe Martincus, Inter-American Development Bank

George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

6th Annual Conference Washington Area Development Economics Symposium (WADES)

Friday, April 20, 2017

Elliott School of International Affairs
Room 212
1957 E St. NW
Washington D.C. 20052

The Washington Area Development Economics Symposium (WADES) is an annual research conference which highlights academic work from researchers at leading economics institutions in development economics in the Washington DC area. Researchers from George Washington University, University of Maryland, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Virginia, the World Bank, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), American University, George Mason University, and the Center for Global Development are all participants in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions.

View the Schedule

Day:  Friday 20 April, 8.50-5.00.

8.30 Light breakfast

8.50 Welcome remarks by Maggie Chen (GWU)

9.00-9.50 Adriana Kugler (Georgetown). – “Do CCTs improve employment and earnings in the very long term? Evidence from Mexico”

9.50-10.20 Paper by PhD student: Kodjo Aflagah (Maryland) “Internal migrants’ ethnic capital and labor market outcomes in South Africa”

10.20-10.35 Discussion by Andrew Zeitlin (Georgetown) and additional questions from faculty

10.35-10.50 Coffee break

10.50-11.40 Isaac Mbiti (UVA). The Returns to Apprenticeships: Experimental Evidence from Ghana

11.40-12.10 Paper by PhD student: Amjad Khan (GWU). “Islam, Institutions and Child Investment: Evidence from Gender Discrimination in Pakistan”

12.10-12.25 Discussion by Sandip Sukhtankar (UVA) and additional questions from faculty

12.25-1.30 Lunch

1.30-2.20 Sarah Baird. (GWU). “Building Businesses among the Vulnerable: Experimental Evidence from Tanzania”

2.20-2.50 Paper by PhD student: Dario Sansone (Georgetown). “Man vs. machine in predicting successful entrepreneurs:  Evidence from a business plan competition in Nigeria”

2.50-3.05 Discussion by Kenneth Leonard (Maryland) and additional questions from faculty

3.05-3.20 Coffee break

3.20-4.10 Jessica Goldberg (Maryland). ​Leveraging Patients’ Social Networks to Overcome Tuberculosis Under-detection in India: A Field Experiment

4.10-4.40 Paper by PhD student Ramiro Burga (UVA). “Fixing an Instructional Mismatch: The Case of Bilingual Education among Indigenous Students in Peru”

4.40-4.55 Discussion by Jennifer Muz (GWU) and additional questions from faculty

5.00 Reception

George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

Building Brazil’s Future: A Conference on Innovation, Investment and Economic Development

View the Agenda

Building Brazil’s Future brings together researchers, business leaders, and policymakers to discuss the country’s efforts to launch a sustainable economic recovery through game changing innovations and investments along with key policy reforms. The conference features two discussion panels. The first treats the issues surrounding the role of innovation in developing the Brazilian economy and the second focuses on how investments can promote innovation and higher productivity across sectors.

Speakers

  • Raphael Gheneim Camargo, Secretary of Planning and Innovation of the Municipality of Cotia, SP, Columbia University
  • Otaviano Canuto, Executive Director, Brazil, The World Bank Group
  • Thiago Augusto Cesar, CEO at Bit.One
  • Maggie Chen, Director of the Institute of International Economic Policy
  • Gregory Harrington, Partner at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer
  • Antonio Josino Meirelles, Executive Director Brazilian Industries Coalition
  • Gabriel Petrus, Executive Director, Brazil International Chamber of Commerce
  • Justin Duarte Pine, Director, International Affairs for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization
  • Antonio H. Pinheiro Silveira, Executive Director, Brazil and Suriname Inter-American Development Bank
  • Stefan Schimenes, Founder and CEO at Investorise

10th Annual Conference on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations

Click Here to View Photos

The U.S.-China relationship is now second to none in importance for international economic relations and policy and accordingly is a major focus of IIEP. The centerpiece of this initiative is our annual Conference on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic and Political Relations

Speakers

An archive of all previous Annual Conferences on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations is available here.

For more information, please contact Kyle Renner at iiep@gwu.edu or 202-994-5320.

Schedule of Events

October 6, 2017

8:15 – 8:45AM: Coffee and Registration
8:45 – 9:00AM: Welcoming Remarks

9:00 – 9:40AM: Keynote One: U.S.-China Trade and U.S. Jobs: A Value-Chain Perspective
View the session video here

9:40 – 10:30AM: Infrastructure, Environment, and Growth
View the session video here

10:30 – 10:45AM: Coffee Break

10:45 – 12:00PM: Policy Session 1: Chinese Macro-Economy in the Next Decade
View the session video here

12:00 – 12:45PM: Lunch 

12:45 – 1:25PM: Keynote Two: Lessons of China’s Experience and Experience of the US for China
View the session video here

1:25 – 2:40PM: Globalization and Human Capital
View the session video here

2:40 – 2:50PM: Dean’s Remarks
View the session video here

2:50 – 4:05PM: Policy Session 2: An Outlook of U.S.-China Trade Relations
View the session video here

  • Moderator: Steve Suranovic, GWU
  • Wendy CutlerAsia Society Policy Institute
  • Junjie Hong, University of International Business and Economics
  • Maggie ChenGeorge Washington University
4:05 – 4:20PM: Coffee Break

4:20 – 5:35PM: Policy Session 3: The China Model of Economic Development
View the session video here

5:35 – 5:40PM: Closing Remarks

4th Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Research Conference

Friday, September 8, 2017

Preston Auditorium
The World Bank
1818 H Street, N.W., 20433 Washington D.C.

This conference hosted by the World Bank, George Washington University (Institute for International Economic Policy) and the International Growth Centre Cities Program brings together academics and development practitioners to present and discuss the challenges of sustainable urban development in developing countries.

One of the great challenges of 21st century cities in developing countries is that they must fulfill the requirements of connectivity in production for businesses and address the negative externalities for consumers of density with extremely limited financial resources and public capacity. This raises the following questions: What national policies strengthen and weaken developing world cities, and what infrastructure investments deliver the largest growth benefits? In particular, the aim of this conference will be to reflect upon how cities in developing countries should focus their efforts on improving their land and housing sector (see Session 1: Land), their transportation networks (see Session 2: Transportation), or their sanitation infrastructure (see Session 3: Public Services). In other words, how can we build, or rebuild, cities in the future in order to promote economic growth and reduce poverty?

Rémi Jedwab, Associate Professor of Economics and International Affairs, George Washington University

Rémi Jedwab is an associate professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Elliott School and the Department of Economics of George Washington University. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the Paris School of Economics. He was also a visiting Ph.D. student at the London School of Economics for three years. Professor Jedwab’s main fields of research are development and growth, urban economics, public economics and political economy. Some of the issues he has studied include urbanization and structural transformation, the relationship between population growth and economic growth, the economic effects of transportation infrastructure, and the roles of institutions, human capital and technology in development. His research has been published in the American Economic Review, the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Economic Journal, the Journal of Economic Growth and the Journal of Urban Economics. Recently, Professor Jedwab’s research areas have included the phenomenon of urbanization without economic growth, and his research has been highlighted by The Atlantic’s CityLab and the Boston Globe.

 

Edward Glaeser, Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics, Harvard

Edward Glaeser is the Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics at Harvard, where he also serves as Director of the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston. He studies the economics of cities, and has written scores of articles on urban issues, including the growth of cities, segregation, crime, and housing markets. He has been particularly interested in the role that geographic proximity can play in creating knowledge and innovation. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1992 and has been at Harvard since then.

 

Harris Selod, Senior Economist, The World Bank

Harris Selod is a Senior Economist with the Development Research Group of the World Bank. His current research focuses on urban development, including issues related to transport and land use, as well as land tenure, land markets and the political economy of the land sector in developing countries, with a specific interest in West Africa. His publications cover a variety of topics in urban and public economics including theories of squatting and residential informality, the political economy of transport infrastructure, the effects of residential segregation on schooling and unemployment, or the impact of land rights formalization and place-based policies. He has been chair of the World Bank’s Land Policy and Administration Thematic Group (2011-2013) and is currently leading a World Bank research program on transport.

Keynote Speaker

Paul Romer

Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, World Bank

Dr. Paul Romer took office as the World Bank’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President in October, 2016. Romer is on leave from his position as University Professor at New York University. His initial interest in technological progress led to research on topics ranging from an abstract analysis of how the economics of ideas differs from the economics of objects to practical suggestions about how to improve science and technology policy. More recently, his research on catch-up growth in low- and middle-income countries has emphasized the importance of government policies that encourage orderly urban expansion. Before NYU, Romer taught at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, and while there, also started Aplia, an education technology company dedicated to increasing student effort. Romer has also variously taught economics at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Chicago, and the University of Rochester.

Chairs and Panelists

Maggie Chen

Professor of Economics, GW and IIEP

Maggie Xiaoyang Chen is the Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy and Professor of Economics and International Affairs at George Washington University. Professor Chen’s areas of research expertise include foreign direct investment, international trade, and regional trade agreements and her work has been published extensively in academic journals. She has worked as an economist in the research department of the World Bank, a consultant for various divisions of the World Bank and the International Finance Cooperation, and a trade policy advisor at the U.S. congressional Budget Office leading policy analyses on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. She has also held visiting professor positions in various universities including Boston College and University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China and is a co-editor of the Economic Inquiry. Professor Chen received her Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder and her B.A. in Economics from Beijing Normal University.

Craig Kesson

Executive Director for the Directorate of the Mayor, City of Cape Town, South Africa

Craig Kesson is the City of Cape Town Executive Director for the Directorate of the Mayor as well as the Chief Resilience Officer, in partnership with the 100 Resilient Cities Programme. He has worked in several senior roles in city management and has advised a number of metro governments. He previously served as the National Director of Research for South Africa’s Official Opposition. He is a graduate of the University of KwaZulu Natal, the University of Stellenbosch Business School, the University of Liverpool, and the University of Oxford where he was a Rhodes Scholar. His specialisations are in public policy and strategy; project portfolios, and operations modelling. He is the co-author with Mayor Patricia De Lille of an upcoming book on the nature of city leadership and management planned for publication in August 2017.

Marianne Fay

Chief Economist, Climate Change Group, World Bank Group

Marianne Fay is the chief economist for climate change at the World Bank. She co-directed the World Development Report 2010 on Climate Change. Ms. Fay has served in multiple regions in the World Bank, including Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa, working on infrastructure, urbanization, and more recently on climate change and green growth. Her research has explored the role of infrastructure and urbanization in development, with a particular focus on urban poverty, climate change, and green growth, on which she has authored numerous articles and books. As chief economist for sustainable development, she led the World Bank’s flagship report for the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Inclusive Green Growth: The Pathway to Sustainable Development.

Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez

Senior Director, Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice, The World Bank

Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez is the Senior Director for the World Bank Group’s Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice. In this position, Mr. Ijjasz-Vasquez leads a team of over 600 technical experts deployed across the world, leveraging global knowledge and collaborating with partners to help tackle the world’s most complex development challenges in: social inclusion and sustainability; mainstreaming resilience in all dimensions development; territorial and rural development; and urban planning, services and institutions. Before this, he was Director for Sustainable Development of the Latin America and Caribbean Region since November 2011, covering infrastructure, environment and climate change, social development, agriculture and rural development, disaster risk management, and urban development with an active portfolio of about $17 billion. From 2007 to 2011, he was based in Beijing, where he managed the Sustainable Development Unit for China and Mongolia. Earlier in his career, he managed the global trust-funded programs ESMAP and WSP in energy and water and sanitation, respectively. Mr. Ijjasz has a Ph.D. and a M.Sc. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in civil and environmental engineering, with specialization in hydrology and water resources. He has been a lecturer at the Environmental Science and Policy Program at Johns Hopkins University, and at Tsinghua University. He is a Colombian and Hungarian national.

William Maloney

Chief Economist, Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions, World Bank

William F. Maloney is Chief Economist for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions in the World Bank Group. Previously he was Chief Economist for Trade and Competitiveness and Global Lead on Innovation and Productivity. Prior to the Bank, he was a Professor of Economics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (1990-1997) and then joined, working as Lead Economist in the Office of the Chief Economist for Latin America until 2009. From 2009 to 2014, he was Lead Economist in the Development Economics Research Group. From 2011 to 2014 he was Visiting Professor at the University of the Andes and worked closely with the Colombian government on innovation and firm upgrading issues.

Jennifer Semakula Musisi

Executive Director, Kampala Capital City Authority

Jennifer Semakula-Musisi is the first Executive Director of the Kampala Capital City Authority that was established to administer Uganda’s Capital City-Kampala on behalf of the Central Government. Over the past six Years, Jennifer has headed the transformation of the City and initiated a number of activities that have enhanced efficiency in services delivery and paved way for the current steady Transformation of Kampala. The achievements over the period have become an admiration and a benchmark for many upcoming municipalities and Cities in East Africa and beyond. Jennifer is a lawyer by profession. She served as the Commissioner Legal Services and Board Affairs in Uganda Revenue Authority; and; she is an entrepreneur with several successful private businesses in Uganda.

Michael Toman

Research Manager, Environment and Energy Research Program, Development Research Group, The World Bank

Michael Toman (Mike) is Lead Economist on Climate Change in the Development Research Group and Manager of the Energy and Environment Team. His current research interests include alternative energy resources, policies for responding to risks of climate change catastrophes, timing of investments for greenhouse gas reduction, and mechanisms for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions through reduced deforestation. During his career Mike has done extensive research on climate change economics and policy, energy markets and policy, environmental policy instruments, and approaches to achieving sustainable development. Prior to joining the World Bank in fall 2008, he held senior analytical and management positions at RAND Corporation, Inter-American Development Bank, and Resources for the Future. His teaching experience includes adjunct positions at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the School of the Environment, University of California at Santa Barbara. Mike has a B.A. from Indiana University, a M.Sc. in applied mathematics from Brown University, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from the University of Rochester.

Anna Wellenstein

Director of Strategy and Operations, Social, Urban, Rural, and Resilience (SURR) Global Practice, World Bank

Anna is a key member of the World Bank’s SURR GP senior management team that sets strategy for analytics and financing in areas such as disaster risk reduction, urban renovation, and geospatial technology. She also oversees partnerships with bilateral, UN, and regional organizations. Anna has over 20 years of experience in urban development. She’s led efforts to design and finance investments, facilitate policy reforms and build capacity to help developing countries reduce poverty and boost equity. Anna has been responsible for technical oversight of new projects financed by the Bank, the portfolio quality of ongoing projects, and setting sector and country strategies. Anna oversees $25 billion in lending to developing countries in over 200 projects, 325 studies and technical assistance projects. She’s developed strong partnerships with governments in countries ranging from large middle income to small island states as well as development agencies and academia.

Horacio Terraza

Lead Urban Specialist for the Latin American Region, The World Bank

Horacio has more than 20 years of professional experience in the urban-environmental field, having worked both in the private sector and multilateral development organizations. He has just rejoined the World Bank as Lead Urban Specialist for the Latin American Region focusing on cities and Resilience. During the previous 6 years he worked at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as the Coordinator of the Emerging and Sustainable Cities Initiative (ESCI) and also as Principal Water Specialist. Before the IDB Horacio worked for 11 years as a Senior Environmental Specialist at the World Bank, leading the urban environmental agenda in the Latin American Department. Prior to that, he worked in the private sector as a Project Manager for environmental engineering companies providing treatment and final disposal of hazardous substances. Horacio was trained as a mechanical engineer at the National University of La Plata in Argentina and holds a Master’s in International Economics and International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Presenters

Robert Buckley

Affiliated Scholar, Urban Institute

Bob Buckley is an Affiliated Scholar at the Urban Institute. He was Managing Director at the Rockefeller Foundation, Advisor at the World Bank, and Senior Fellow at the New School. He has written widely on urbanization and development in both the popular press and academic journals, and has helped prepare projects in a variety of places.

Gilles Duranton

Accessibility and Mobility in Urban India, Wharton School

Gilles Duranton is Professor of Accessibility and Mobility in Urban India and holds the Dean’s Chair in Real Estate. He joined the Wharton School in 2012 after holding academic positions at the University of Toronto and the London School of Economics. A graduate from HEC Paris and Sorbonne University, he obtained his PhD in economics jointly from the London School of Economics and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science Sociales in Paris. His research focuses on urban and transportation issues. His empirical work is concerned with urban growth and the estimation of the costs and benefits of cities and clusters. He is also interested in the effects of transportation infrastructure on urban development and the evaluation of local policies. He also conducts theoretical research to gain insight about the distribution of city sizes, the skill composition, and sectoral patterns of activities in cities.

Somik Lall

Lead Economist, The World Bank

Somik V. Lall is a Lead Economist for Urban Development at the World Bank’s Urban Development and Resilience Unit in the Sustainable Development Network. He is the lead author of a World Bank report on urbanization “Planning, Connecting, and Financing Cities Now: Priorities for City Leaders.” He was a core team member of the 2009 World Development Report “Reshaping Economic Geography”, and recently Senior Economic Counsellor to the Indian Prime Minister’s National Transport Development Policy Committee. Somik currently leads a World Bank program on the Urbanization Reviews, which provides diagnostic tools and a policy framework for policymakers to manage rapid urbanization and city development. His research interests span urban and spatial economics, infrastructure development, and public finance. He has over 40 publications featuring in peer reviewed journals, edited volumes, and working papers. Somik holds a bachelors degree in engineering, masters in city planning, and doctorate in economics and public policy.

Daniel da Mata

Researcher, Institute for Applied Economic Research

Daniel Da Mata is a Tenured Researcher at the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea). He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Cambridge. Since joining Ipea in 2004, he has held several positions at the institute, including Head of Urban Studies and Head of Quantitative Research Division. His research on Urban, Public and Development Economics has been published in peer reviewed journals and book chapters. He has recently won the BMZ/GIZ Public Policy Award and the European Regional Science Association EPAINOS Award.

Matthew Turner

Professor of Economics, Brown University

Matthew Turner is a Professor of Economics at Brown University. He regularly teaches courses in urban and environmental economics, and occasionally, microeconomic theory. He is broadly interested in environmental and urban policy and his recent research focuses on the economics of land use and transportation. Professor Turner holds a Ph. D. in economics from Brown University and is a Co-Editor of the Journal of Urban Economics. His research appears in the American Economic Review, the Journal of Political Economy, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Review of Economic Studies and Econometrica, and is regularly featured in the popular press.

Anthony Venables

Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford and Director of the Centre for the Analysis of Resource Rich Economies

Tony Venables CBE is Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford where he also directs the Centre for the Analysis of Resource Rich Economies and a programme of research on urbanisation in developing economies. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and of the Econometric Society. Former positions include Chief Economist at the UK Department for International Development, professor at the London School of Economics, research manager of the trade research group in the World Bank, and advisor to the UK Treasury. He has published extensively in the areas of international trade, spatial economics, and natural resources, including work on trade and imperfect competition, economic integration, multinational firms, and economic geography.

Discussants

Alain Bertaud

Adjunct Professor, Marron Institute

Alain Bertaud is an Adjunct Professor at the Marron Institute and a senior research scholar at the NYU Stern Urbanization Project. At the moment, he is writing a book about urban planning that is tentatively titled Order Without Design. Bertaud previously held the position of principal urban planner at the World Bank. After retiring from the Bank in 1999, he worked as an independent consultant. Prior to joining the World Bank he worked as a resident urban planner in a number of cities around the world: Bangkok, San Salvador (El Salvador), Port au Prince (Haiti), Sana’a (Yemen), New York, Paris, Tlemcen (Algeria), and Chandigarh (India).

Leah Brooks

Assistant Professor, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, George Washington University

Leah Brooks is Assistant Professor in the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at the George Washington University. After receiving her PhD from UCLA in 2005, she taught at the University of Toronto and McGill University, and worked at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Her research interest is urban political economy. Her work to date has examined Business Improvement Districts to understand the resolution of collective action problems, and the Community Development Block Grant program to analyze the political economy of grant giving at the municipal and sub-municipal levels. She has documented the existence and analyzed the impacts of municipally-imposed tax and expenditure limits, studied the premium required to assemble land, analyzed the long-term effects of streetcars on urban form, and is hard at work examining the impact of containerization on cities.

Maisy Wong

Associate Professor, Real Estate at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Maisy Wong is an Associate Professor of Real Estate at the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania. Her current research interests include household mobility and sorting behavior, urbanization in developing countries, and real estate finance. Her research has been published in journals such as the American Economic Review, Review of Economic Studies, AEJ: Applied Economics, and Journal of Finance. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, at Berkeley.

8:30-9:00 AM Coffee and Registration

9:00-10:45 AM Opening Session: Urban Governance

Welcoming Remarks: Michael Toman, Research Manager, Energy and Environment, Development Research Group, The World Bank; Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez, Senior

Director, Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice, The World Bank

Chair: William Maloney, Chief Economist, Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions, The World Bank

Panelists: Craig Kesson, Executive Director for the Directorate of the Mayor, City of Cape Town, South Africa; Edward Glaeser, Professor of Economics, Harvard

and IGC; Jennifer Musisi, Executive Director, Kampala Capital City Authority, Uganda; Paul Romer, Chief Economist and Vice-President, The World Bank

10:45-11:00 AM Coffee Break

11:00 AM-12:30 PM Session 1: Land

Chair: Horacio Terraza, Lead Urban Specialist for the Latin American Region, The World Bank

11:00-11:20 AM Mini keynote (Video): “Land in the Urban Development Agenda,” Harris Selod, Development Research Group at The World Bank

11:20-11:40 AM Paper 1.1 (Video) “Building the City: Sunk Capital, Sequencing, and Institutional Frictions,” Anthony Venables (University of Oxford), joint with

Vernon Henderson (LSE) and Tanner Regan (LSE)

11:40-12:00 PM Paper 1.2 “On the Determinants of Slum Formation,” Daniel da Mata (IPEA), joint with Tiago Cavalcanti (University of Cambridge) and Marcelo

Santos (IIER)

12:00-12:15 PM Discussion (Video): Alain Bertaud, NYU Urbanization Project

12:15-12:30 PM Q&A

12:30-1:30 PM Lunch

1:30-2:15 PM Keynote Addresses: Cities, Growth, and Planning

Paul Romer, Chief Economist and Vice-President, The World Bank

Chair: Phil Hay, Communication Adviser, Development Economics, The World Bank

2:15-3:45 PM Session 2: Transportation

Chair: Marianne Fay, Chief Economist, Sustainable Development Vice-Presidency, The World Bank

2:15-2:35 PM Mini keynote (Video): “Transport Infrastructure in the Urban Development Agenda,” Somik Lall, The World Bank

2:35-2:55 PM Paper 2.1 (Video) “Congestion in Bogota,” Gilles Duranton (Wharton Business School)

2:55-3:15 PM Paper 2.2 “Subways and Urban Air Pollution,” Matthew Turner (Brown University)

3:15-3:30 PM Discussion (Video): Leah Brooks, George Washington University

3:30-3:45 PM Q&A

3:45-4:00 PM Coffee Break

4:00-5:30 PM Session 3: Public Services

Chair: Michael Toman, Research Manager, Energy and Environment, Development Research Group, The World Bank

4:00-4:20 PM Mini keynote (Video): “Urban Sanitation in the Urban Development Agenda,” Rémi Jedwab (George Washington University)

4:20-4:40 PM Paper 3.1 (Video) “Financing Sewers in the 19th Century’s Largest Cities: A Prequel for African Cities?,” Robert Buckley (The Urban Institute)

4:40-5:00 PM Paper 3.2 “Water, Health, and Wealth,” Ed Glaeser (Harvard University), with Nava Ashraf, Abraham Holland, and Bryce Steinberg

5:00-5:15 PM Discussion (Video): Maisy Wong (The Wharton School)

5:15-5:30 PM Q&A

6:00-7:30 PM Cocktail Reception and Welcome Speech by Maggie Chen (George Washington University)

At the George Washington University, Lindner Commons Room (6th Floor) of the Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E St. N.W. (at the intersection of E and

19th Streets, on E Street), Washington, DC

EGAP Evidence Summit on Elections and Political Accountability

Friday, June 9, 2017

9:30am to 3:300pm

 

Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

You’re invited to an Evidence Summit on Elections and Political Accountability, sponsored by the Evidence in Governance and Politics (EGAP)research network. The event will take place on Friday, June 9, 2017 from 9:30am – 3:30pm at The Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. Lunch will be provided for free; please RSVP using the free ticket option. (If you work for an organization that prevents you from accepting a free lunch, we have provided an at-cost ticket option that allows you to pay for your meal.)

EGAP researchers will be on hand to showcase six new field experimental studies that were carried out in coordination, all of which examine the consequences of making voters more informed about their politicians. EGAP will also present the integrated results from the six studies. This research is part of EGAP’s Metaketa Initiative, which is a new grant-making model designed to foster innovation and cumulative learning through simultaneous replication or research across multiple contexts. In addition, EGAP will use the event to study the potential utility of research for policymakers and practitioners.

Please RSVP, save the date on your calendars, and forward this notification to your colleagues!

Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law

Since 2002, the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at Stanford University has collaborated widely with academics, policymakers and practitioners around the world to advance knowledge about the conditions for and interactions among democracy, broad-based economic development, human rights, and the rule of law.

Evidence in Governance and Politics

Evidence in Governance and Politics (EGAP) is a cross-disciplinary network of researchers and practitioners united by a focus on experimental research and dedicated to generating and disseminating rigorous evidence on topics of governance, politics, and institutions. EGAP seeks to forge partnerships between researchers and practitioners committed to understanding the politics of global development, advancing evidence-based policy making, and improving the quality of empirical research in the social sciences.

2017 Intensive Trade Seminar: Spring Session

Thursday, June 8, 2017

9:00am to 4:30pm – Reception to Follow

 

House of Sweden
2900 K Street NW
Washington, DC 20007

The WITA Intensive Trade Seminar (ITS) Spring Session provides an in-depth look into critical trade issues, and provides an overview of how the US Government formulates and enforces trade policy.

Along with the Fall ITS, these sessions provide a unique opportunity for attendees to increase their professional knowledge base and broaden their network of contacts by learning the nuts and bolts of trade policy from career trade policymakers from the US Government and Capitol Hill, the private sector, NGO’s, and other players in the trade policy arena.

The Intensive Trade Seminar addressed four important trade issues:

US Trade Law

Speakers including Stacy J. Ettinger, Partner at K&L Gates LLP and Hon. F. Scott Kieff, Commissioner at U.S. International Trade Commission, discussed what we might expect to see from the Trump Administration’s enforcement agenda, and the impact that could have on U.S. jobs, American consumers, and the global trading system.

International Tax and Competitiveness

This session featuring James Gould, Principal at Ogilvy Government Relations, and Catherine Schultz, Vice President for Tax Policy at National Foreign Trade Council, provided an overview of the international tax regime, efforts to reform the tax treatment of foreign earnings and investment, and the implications of these policies on the competitiveness of US firms.

Digital Trade

This session highlighted new technologies and how trade policies can be adapted to 21st Century business. Speakers included Christine Bliss, President at Coalition of Services Industries, and Stephen Ezell, Vice President of Global Innovation Policy at The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation.

Views on Trade from Around the World

This session looked at the future of trade in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Speakers included David Brightling, Counsellor (Trade), Embassy of Australia; Rodrigo A. Contreras, Head of Economic Department / Trade Commissioner, Embassy of Chile; Damien Levie, Head of Section – Trade and Agriculture section, Delegation of the European Union to the United States of America; Katrin Kuhlmann, President and Founder, New Markets Lab.

7th Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) Conference

Friday, April 21, 2017

Elliott School of International Affairs
George Washington University 1957 E Street NW Suite 505
Washington D.C. 20052

The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions.

View the Schedule
8:30 – 9:00 AM: Continental Breakfast and Registration
9:00 – 9:40 AM: Eunhee Lee (University of Maryland):
“Trade, Inequality, and the Endogenous Sorting of Heterogeneous Workers”
Discussant: Lindsay Oldenski (Georgetown University)
9:40 – 10:20 AM: Ferdinando Monte (Georgetown University):
“The Local Incidence of Trade Shocks”
Discussant: Illenin Kondo (Federal Reserve Board)
10:20 – 10:40 AM: Coffee Break
10:40 – 11:20 AM: Paul Piveteau (SAIS-Johns Hopkins):
“An empirical dynamic model of trade with consumer accumulation”
Discussant: Colin Hottman (Federal Reserve Board)
11:20 – 12:00 PM: Aaron Flaaen (Federal Reserve Board):
“The Role of Transfer Prices in Profit Shifting by U.S. Multinationals: Evidence from the 2004 Homeland Investment”
Discussant: JaeBin Ahn (International Monetary Fund)
12:00 – 1:40 PM: Lunch and Keynote:
Keith Maskus (Chief Economist Department of State and University of Colorado-Boulder)
1:40 – 2:20 PM: Maggie Chen (George Washington University):
“An Anatomy of Foreign Investment News”
Discussant: Rod Ludema (Georgetown University)
2:20 – 3:00 PM: Moises Yi (Census Bureau):
“Industry Mix, Local Labor Markets, and the Incidence of Trade Shocks”
Discussant: Marisol Rodriguez Chatruc (Inter-American Development Bank)
3:00 – 3:20 PM: Coffee Break
3:20 – 4:00 PM: Juan Blyde (Inter-American Development Bank):
“The Impact of Chinese Competition on Mexican Labor Outcomes”
Discussant: Claire Brunel (American University)
4:00 – 4:40 PM: Aaditya Mattoo (World Bank):
“Trade Creation and Trade Diversion in Deep Agreements”
Discussant: Peter Herman (United States International Trade Commission)

George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

Trumping Trade Orthodoxy

Friday, February 3, 2017

9:00am to 4:00pm

 

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

President Trump has promised a markedly new direction in U.S. trade policy through tweets, appointments, and executive orders. Regardless of these first steps and initial press reports, substantial questions remain about whether some of the actions in fact can be adopted within existing legislative and constitutional constraints. In other areas, President Trump’s authority to pursue radically different policies likely are well-established. George Washington’s Institute for International Economic Policy hosted a full day conference to examine what President Trump can, and cannot, do on trade policy without new congressional authorization. Participants will hear from panels that will include a team of two leading lawyers and economists with substantial first-hand trade policy experience. This conference provided audience members with important perspectives on the limits of President Trump’s emerging trade policy.

 View video from the conference at the IIEP YouTube Channel

View the Schedule
8:15 AM – 9:00 AM: Registration and Breakfast

 

9:00 AM – 9:15 AM: Opening Remarks and Introduction, Michael Moore (George Washington University)

 

9:15 AM – 10:15 AM: Trade Remedies

The President has substantial leeway for initiating various trade remedy actions (antidumping, countervailing duty, and safeguards). U.S. trade law practice and procedure may limit the scope of imposing duties under these provisions.

10:15 AM – 11:15 AM: China as a ‘Currency Manipulator’

The U.S. Treasury may determine that a country manipulates its currency but only under certain statutory conditions. Would China qualify under those provisions? What consequences might it face if China is declared a “currency manipulator”?

11:15 AM – 11:30 AM: Coffee Break

 

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM: Renegotiating/Leaving Existing Trade Agreements

U.S. trade agreements such as NAFTA allow for either Party to announce a withdrawal with six months’ notice. Can President Trump do so without congressional approval? What would be the impact on U.S. trade and investment flows if he were to follow through with such threats?

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM: Lunch

 

1:30 PM – 2:30 PM: Tax Policy, Investment Agreements, & Foreign Direct Investment

President Trump has suggested imposing 35 percent tariffs on individual U.S. firms that offshore manufacturing jobs. Can the Administration single out individual companies in this way? How might such threats increase uncertainty on inward and outward U.S. foreign investment?

2:30 PM – 2:45 PM: Coffee Break

 

2:45 PM – 3:45 PM: Possible WTO Disputes

An aggressive new U.S. trade policy may result in formal disputes with WTO members. What are the most likely cases that might arise? How might the U.S. economy be affected if the WTO rules in favor of those who contest new U.S. approaches in trade policy?

3:45 PM – 4:00 PM: Concluding Remarks

IMF Africa Regional Economic Outlook

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

9:00am to 12:00pm

 

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

Africa continues to experience great opportunities for growth while also facing several great challenges. Sustained economic growth, income inequality, gender disparities, and competitiveness in the global trade arena are all issues with the potential to make or break the continent’s development as a region. The African Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) publishes the Regional Economic Outlook (REO): Sub-Saharan Africa report twice a year. Review the latest report here.

 

Panel I: Multispeed Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

  • IMF Presenter: Jesus Gonzalez-Garcia
  • Discussants: Temesgen Deressa and Marcus King

Panel II: Exchange Rate Regimes in Sub-Saharan Africa: Experiences and Lessons

  • IMF Presenter: Haris Tsangarides
  • Discussants: Ajay Chhibber, Steve Suranovic, and Kingsley Moghalu

9th Annual Conference on China’s Economic Development and U.S. China Economic Relations

Click here to view videos

The U.S.-China relationship is now second to none in importance for international economic relations and policy and accordingly is a major focus of IIEP. The centerpiece of this initiative is our annual Conference on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic and Political Relations

This year, key topics discussed will include China’s financial market, the state of China’s macro-economy, the China-Africa relationship, and China’s outward investments and their impacts. For more information about the conference and bios of each panelist, visit our blog

An archive of all previous Annual Conferences on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations is available here. For more information, please contact Kyle Renner at iiep@gwu.edu or 202-994-5320.

Schedule of Events

November 11, 2016

8:00 – 8:50AM Coffee and Continental Breakfast

8:50 – 9:00AM Welcome and Overview of the Conference

  • Stephen Smith, Director, Institute for International Economic Policy (IIEP), Professor of Economics and International Affairs, GWU

9:00 – 11:00AM Panel 1: The Future of Trade Integration in the Asia Pacific

Moderated by IIEP affiliate Steve SuranovicProfessor of Economics and International Affairs, The George Washington University

  • Jeff Schott, Peterson Institute for International Economics, “Will the US Invest in or Divest from Asia-Pacific Economic Integration?” 
  • Michael Plummer, JHU, “Megaregionalism in the Asia-Pacific and Options for Shared Chinese-US Leadership”
  • Jiandong Ju, Shanghai University of Finance & Economics, “Huaxia Community: A FTA and a New Architecture for the Global Economic System”

11:00 – 11:15AM Coffee Break

11:15 – 12:45PM Panel 2:The Internet in China’s Economy

Moderated by IIEP affiliate Susan Aaronson, Research Professor of Intenrational Affairs, The George Washington University

  • Hong Xue, Beijing Normal University, “Chinese Electronic Commerce Law: the New Basic Law for Digital Economy”
  • Jingting Fan, UMD, “The Alibaba Effect: Spatial Consumption Inequality and the Welfare Gains from e-Commerce”
  • Maggie Chen, George Washington University, “International Trade on the Internet: Evidence from Alibaba”

12:45 – 2:00PM Lunch

2:00 – 3:30PM Panel 3: Trade, Migration, and Wage Premium in China

Moderated by IIEP affiliate Joseph PelzmanProfessor of Economics and International Affairs, The George Washington University

  • Chao Wei, George Washington University, The Short and Long of Trade and Migration Reforms in China (joint with Xiaodong Zhu)
  • RuiXue Jia, UCSD, “Access to Elite Education, Wage Premium, and Social Mobility: The Truth and Illusion of China’s College Entrance Exam”
  • Eunhee Lee, University of Maryland at College Park, “Trade, Inequality, and the Endogenous Sorting of Heterogeneous workers”
3:30 – 4:00PM: Coffee Break

4:00 – 5:30PM  Panel 4: China’s Macroeconomy, Urban Growth and Policy Analysis

Moderated by IIEP affiliate Remi Jedwab, Professor of Economics and International Affairs, The George Washington University

  • Zheng LiuFederal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (also affiliated with the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance),“Reserve Requirements and Optimal Chinese Stabilization Policy”
  • Matthew TurnerBrown University, “Highways, Market Access and Urban Growth in China”
  • Kai ZhaoUniversity of Connecticut, “The Chinese Saving Rate: Productivity, Old Age Support and Demographics

Inclusive and Sustainable Growth in India: Policy Challenges and Prospects

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052
Watch the conference videos

Click here to access the morning speakers

Click here to access the afternoon speakers

Click here to access all other remarks

To prepare for the future, India emphasizes addressing inclusive and sustainable growth, eliminating poverty, and expanding their urban sphere. The growth-orientated government faces challenges in creating efficient policy reforms to fit their agenda. Issues including poverty, inequality, lack of infrastructure, and an unfinished plan for reform limit the country’s tremendous growth prospects.

How can India utilize macro economic policy for faster growth? What additional policies are needed to boost infrastructure and urbanization? How is India responding to climate change and sustainability? How can revised policy and programs aid in eradicating poverty?

The Institute for International Economic Policy at the Elliott School of International Affairs and India’s National Institute of Public Finance and Policy hosted a conversation with top academic researchers, officials from the IMF, NIPFP, and World Bank, and current and former advisors of the Indian governments.

View the Schedule
8:30 – 9:00AM: Continental Breakfast
9:00 – 10:00AM: Opening Session
  • Welcome Address
    • Ambassador Reuben Brigety, Dean of the Elliott School
  • Key Note Address: “India’s Reform Challenges and Unfinished Reform Agenda”
    • Arvind Subramaniam, Chief Economic Advisor, Government of India 
10:00 – 11:15AM: Session I – “Macro Economic Policy for Faster Growth”
  • Chair: Dr. Ajay Chhibber, IIEP & NIPFP
  • Dr. Subir Gokarn, Exective Director, India IMF
  • Dr. Rathin Roy,  Director, NIPFP, “A Macro-Fiscal Snapshot
11:15 – 11:30AM: Coffee Break
11:30AM – 1:00PM: Session II – “India’s Commitment to Climate Change and Sustainable Growth”
1:00 – 2:00PM: Lunch: Luncheon Address
  • Dr. Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director, India, World Bank 
2:00 – 3:15PM: Session III – “Infrastructure and Urban Drivers of Growth”
3:15 – 3:30PM: Coffee Break
3:30 – 4:45PM: Session IV – “Equitable Growth and Poverty Eradication: Measurement, Programs, and Policies”
4:45 – 5:30PM: Closing Address: “Getting India back to the Growth Turnpike: What will it take?
  • Dr. Rakesh Mohan, Yale University, and former Executive Director, India, IMF 
  • Dr. Ajay ChhibberIIEP & NIPFP

Digital Trade Conference: The End of Trade as We Know It?

Thursday and Friday, May 5-6, 2016

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

The Internet and associated technologies are both a platform for trade and a technology transforming trade. We define digital trade as commerce in products and services delivered via the Internet (USITC: 2013, i). Although digital trade is the fastest growing component of trade, policymakers are just learning how to create an environment to facilitate such trade in developed and developing countries alike. The Transpacific Partnership (TPP) is the first trade agreement to include binding provisions related to the information flows that power digital trade, but that agreement (and others under negotiation) say little about the domestic and international regulatory context in which the Internet functions. However, as the World Bank notes, an effective regulatory environment is essential to reaping the benefits of the information economy and digital trade (World Bank: 2016)

Trade agreements may not be the best place to regulate information flows — which are a global public good that governments should provide and regulate effectively in a cooperative manner with other governments. Moreover, many Internet issues that involve information flows, such as privacy or the security of data are not market access issues (the traditional turf of trade agreements) issues (Aaronson: 2016).

In this conference, we will examine digital trade as well as barriers to cross-border information flows. We will also discuss the role of trade agreements as tools of Internet governance; examine the domestic and international regulatory environment for information; and focus on how to cooperate to encourage cross-border information flows. We plan to encourage audience and panelist dialogue about these issues.

The Internet Society DC Chapter (ISOC-DC) will be providing a live stream of the conference to be linked to this page.

Susan Ariel Aaronson, Research Professor of International Affairs and a Cross-Disciplinary Fellow at the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs

Susan Ariel Aaronson is Research Professor of International Affairs and a Cross-Disciplinary Fellow at the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. She is currently the Carvalho Fellow at the Government Accountability Project and was the former Minerva Chair at the National War College. Aaronson’s research examines the relationship between economic change and human rights. She is currently directing projects on digital trade and digital rights, repression and civil conflict; trade, trust and transparency; and whistleblowers at international organizations such as the UN and WIPO. Her work has been funded by major international foundations including MacArthur, Ford, and Rockefeller; governments such as the Netherlands, U.S., and Canada; the UN, ILO, and World Bank, and U.S. corporations including Ford Motor and Levi Strauss. Dr. Aaronson is a frequent speaker on public understanding of globalization issues and international economic developments. She regularly comments on international economics on “Marketplace” and was a monthly commentator on “All Things Considered,” “Marketplace,” and “Morning Edition.” She has also appeared on CNN, the BBC, and PBS to discuss trade and globalization issues. Aaronson was a Guest Scholar in Economics at the Brookings Institution (1995–1999); and a Research Fellow at the World Trade Institute 2008-2012.

Maja Andjelkovic, World Bank Mobile Innovation Specialist

Maja is interested in the potential of entrepreneurship and human ingenuity to contribute to economic, environmental and social development. She has spent over 12 years connecting these fields, including as product manager in a web-technology startup, lead researcher at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, and counselor for Canada for the World Bank Group. Since 2009, she has worked to expand infoDev’s mobile innovation program, including by extending our offering to better serve women founders of tech startups in emerging and frontier markets. Maja is pursuing a doctorate at the University of Oxford under Professor Bill Dutton, with a focus on innovation ecosystems and with support from Oxford University Press.

Michael Ferrantino, World Bank Lead Economist

Michael J. Ferrantino is Lead Economist in the World Bank Group Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice. Prior to joining the Bank, he was Lead International Economist at the US International Trade Commission. Michael’s published research spans a wide array of topics relating to international trade, including non-tariff measures and trade facilitation, global value chains, the relationship of trade to the environment, innovation, and productivity, and US-China trade. He has taught at Southern Methodist, Youngstown State, Georgetown, American, and George Washington Universities. Michael’s recent work includes: “The Benefits of Trade Facilitation: A Modelling Exercise,” prepared for the World Economic Forum’s January 2013 report on supply chains, “Enabling Trade: Valuing Growth Opportunities;” a chapter on non-tariff measures in The Ashgate Research Companion to International Trade Policy (2012); and “Evasion Behaviors of Exporters and Importers; Evidence from the U.S.-China Trade Data Discrepancy,” with Xuepeng Liu and Zhi Wang, Journal of International Economics, 2012. Michael holds a PhD from Yale University.

Kyle Renner, IIEP Operations Manager

Kyle Renner manages the Institute for International Economic Policy (IIEP) and provides career and academic advice for the International Trade and Investment Policy (ITIP) master’s program at the Elliott School for International Affairs. Kyle manages IIEP’s research agenda which is broadly concentrated on the areas of international trade, international finance, and international development; with special focus on U.S.-China economic relations, climate change adaptation, ultra-poverty, and global economic governance. He has managed sponsored research projects funded by USAID, the Asian Development Bank, the U.S. Army Research Office, and the Hewlett, Ford, and MacArthur foundations among others. He is also responsible for organizing IIEP’s many events, including scholarly seminars, working groups, policy fora, and research conferences. Kyle provides academic and professional counseling to students in the ITIP program, and serves on the ITIP Program Committee. Kyle completed his B.A. and M.A. in International Affairs at the Elliott School for International Affairs, focusing on international politics, conflict and conflict resolution, and the Middle East. He is interested in the areas of self-sustainable education and business development, and their impact on civil society and economic growth.

 

Speakers and Discussants

Keynote Speakers

Susan Lund, Partner, McKinsey Global Institute, McKinsey & Company (author of Digital Globalization—the New Flows)

Susan Lund is a partner of McKinsey & Company and a leader of the McKinsey Global Institute. She conducts economic research on global financial markets, trade, labor markets, and country productivity and growth.

Her latest report focuses on how digital technologies are transforming globalization. Other recent research examines the continuing accumulation of global debt and potential risks; how digital talent platforms are transforming labor markets; and growth prospects for African economies given the collapse of commodity prices. Susan has an active travel schedule discussing research findings with business executives and policy makers, and she is a frequent speaker at global conferences.

She has authored numerous articles on digital globalization. Susan is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Association of Business Economists, and the Conference of Business Economists.

Klaus Tilmes, Senior Director, World Bank Group Global Practice on Trade and Competitiveness

Klaus Tilmes is Director of the Trade & Competitiveness Global Practice at the World Bank Group. In his position, Tilmes is responsible for such global themes as Trade, Competitive Sectors, Investment Climate and Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Prior to his current position, Klaus was the Director of the Financial and Private Sector Development (FPD) Network at the World Bank, a position he held from 2010 to 2014. Tilmes has a Master’s degree in Public Administration focused on Development Economics and Public Sector Management from Harvard University, and a Master’s in Economics from the University of Mannheim.

Panelists

Susan Ariel Aaronson, Research Professor of International Affairs and a Cross-Disciplinary Fellow at the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs

Susan Ariel Aaronson is Research Professor of International Affairs and a Cross-Disciplinary Fellow at the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. She is currently the Carvalho Fellow at the Government Accountability Project and was the former Minerva Chair at the National War College. Aaronson’s research examines the relationship between economic change and human rights. She is currently directing projects on digital trade and digital rights, repression and civil conflict; trade, trust and transparency; and whistleblowers at international organizations such as the UN and WIPO. Her work has been funded by major international foundations including MacArthur, Ford, and Rockefeller; governments such as the Netherlands, U.S., and Canada; the UN, ILO, and World Bank, and U.S. corporations including Ford Motor and Levi Strauss. Dr. Aaronson is a frequent speaker on public understanding of globalization issues and international economic developments. She regularly comments on international economics on “Marketplace” and was a monthly commentator on “All Things Considered,” “Marketplace,” and “Morning Edition.” She has also appeared on CNN, the BBC, and PBS to discuss trade and globalization issues. Aaronson was a Guest Scholar in Economics at the Brookings Institution (1995–1999); and a Research Fellow at the World Trade Institute 2008-2012.

Daniel Adidwa, Tour2.0, South Africa

Mr. Adidwa is a leader who is passionate about entrepreneurship and technology. He takes pleasure in channeling this passion through sourcing innovative solutions, that address current problems within the African continent and taking these solutions to market.

He is a qualified marketer and attained his BA Degree in Integrated Marketing Communication and a Diploma in Account Management from the AAA School of Advertising. Daniel has worked at various communications agencies, where he worked on various local and international blue chip accounts.

He is passionate about the African continent, its people and the stories behind African communities. He believes that technology can play a large role in getting the world to experience real African Stories. He currently holds the position of CEO of Tour2.0 and Vice-Chairman of the Regional Tourism Association of Southern Africa (RETOSA) youth steering committee.

Usman Ahmed, Director, Global Public Policy, PayPal

Usman Ahmed is the Head of Global Public Policy at PayPal Inc. His work covers a variety of global issues including financial services regulation, innovation, international trade, and entrepreneurship. He has given talks on these subjects at conferences and universities around the world and has published in the World Economic Forum Global Information Technology Report, Journal of World Trade, and the Michigan Journal of International Law. Ahmed is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law School where he teaches courses on international law and policy issues related to the Internet. Prior to PayPal, Usman worked at a number of policy think tanks in the Washington DC area focusing on good governance issues. Ahmed earned his JD from University of Michigan, his MA from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and his BA from University of Maryland.

Robert D. Atkinson, President, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

As founder and president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), Robert D. Atkinson leads a prolific team of policy analysts and fellows that is successfully shaping the debate and setting the agenda on a host of critical issues at the intersection of technological innovation and public policy.

He is an internationally recognized scholar and a widely published author whom The New Republic has named one of the “three most important thinkers about innovation,” Washingtonian Magazine has called a “tech titan,” and Government Technology Magazine has judged to be one of the 25 top “doers, dreamers and drivers of information technology.”

A sought-after speaker and valued adviser to policymakers around the world, Atkinson’s books include Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage (link is external) (Yale, 2012), Supply-Side Follies: Why Conservative Economics Fails, Liberal Economics Falters, and Innovation Economics is the Answer (link is external) (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006), and The Past And Future Of America’s Economy: Long Waves Of Innovation That Power Cycles Of Growth (link is external) (Edward Elgar, 2005). He also has conducted groundbreaking research projects and authored hundreds of articles and reports on technology and innovation-related topics ranging from tax policy to advanced manufacturing, productivity, and global competitiveness.

Abdoul Aziz Sy, Vice President for International Rights and Strategy, Public Knowledge

Abdoul Aziz Sy holds a Master in International Sustainable Development from Brandeis University in the United States. He joined the team Upstart in March 2014 as project manager of the ICT project for Good Governance, coordinated by Upstart in partnership with OSIWA Foundation. Aziz also holds a BA in International Relations and has been for 2 years vice president of SIFE team (Students in Free Enterprise) Suffolk University with the aim to find entrepreneurial solutions to improve the lives of communities. His career includes such courses in structures such as Ernst & Young and the American NGO Ashoka.

Brian Bieron, Director of Public Policy, eBay and Main Street

Brian Bieron is Executive Director of the Public Policy Lab. Bieron has published and spoken on a broad variety of issues at the nexus of technology and commerce including taxation, telecommunications, customs, and intellectual property.

Bieron led eBay’s US Government Relations Team in Washington, DC from 2004 to 2012, overseeing eBay staff, outside lobbying firms, a DC-based PR firm, various trade associations and a federal political action committee. These resources were focused on issues important to eBay and its community of users, including sales tax collection on the Internet, net neutrality, proposals to ISP third-party liability, and cross-border trade policies impacting small businesses.

Prior to joining eBay, Bieron spent three-and-a-half years as a Director at Clark & Weinstock, one of Washington’s leading bipartisan lobbying and consulting firms. He supported a wide range of clients, including leading technology, telecommunications, and financial services companies such as Microsoft, AT&T, PhRMA, NASDAQ, and eBay. He also spent twelve years on Capitol Hill as a congressional staff person, including service as Policy Director for House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier, where he played a lead role on key congressional trade and technology issues.

Nicholas Bramble, Public Policy Manager, Google

Nicholas Bramble is a Public Policy Manager at Google, where he focuses on trade policy and international relations. Prior to joining Google he was a Presidential Innovation Fellow, and served as a lecturer and director of the Law and Media Program at Yale Law School. He filed amicus briefs in Golan v. Holder and FCC v. Fox, and has published articles in Hastings Law Journal, Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review, and the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology.

Mr. Bramble earned his J.D. at Harvard Law School and holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from Stanford University. He clerked for the Honorable Charles F. Lettow on the US Court of Federal Claims, and was a visiting researcher at the Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy.

Ralph Carter, Managing Director, Federal Express

As Managing Director of Legal, Trade & International Affairs, Ralph Carter is responsible for coordinating FedEx’s international regulatory affairs, including trade policy. Mr. Carter joined FedEx in Brussels, Belgium in 2001 and directed FedEx’s government affairs activities with the European Commission, Parliament and Council, as well as with Member State governments. Mr. Carter also served as in-house legal counsel responsible for commercial transactions and regulatory compliance for Central and Eastern Europe.

Before joining FedEx, Mr. Carter worked in the United States Department of State, serving as the Special Assistant to the United States Ambassador to the European Union. He is currently a member of the State Department’s Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy.

Mr. Carter has a BS and JD from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a Masters of Laws from American University.

Anupam Chander, Professor of Law, UC-Davis, author of “The Electronic Silk Road”

Anupam Chander is Director of the California International Law Center and Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Law at the University of California, Davis. A graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School, he has been a visiting professor at Yale, Chicago, Stanford, and Cornell. The author of The Electronic Silk Road (Yale University Press), he has published widely in the nation’s leading law journals, including the Yale Law Journal, the NYU Law Review, and the California Law Review. He practiced law in New York and Hong Kong with Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. He served on the executive council of the American Society of International Law and serves as a judge for the Stanford Junior International Faculty Forum. The recipient of Google Research Awards and an Andrew Mellon grant on the topic of surveillance, he is a member of the ICTSD/World Economic Forum E15 expert group on the digital economy and the World Economic Forum expert group on Internet fragmentation.

Krista Cox, Director of Public Policy Initiatives, Association of Research Libraries

Krista Cox is the director of public policy Initiatives at ARL. In this role, she advocates for the policy priorities of the Association and executes strategies to implement these priorities. She monitors legislative trends and participates in ARL’s outreach to the Executive Branch and the US Congress.

Prior to joining ARL, Krista worked as the staff attorney for Knowledge Ecology International, an organization dedicated to searching for better outcomes, including new solutions, to the management of knowledge resources, particularly in the context of social justice. While at KEI, she wrote and filed amicus briefs in various intellectual property cases; attended the WIPO Diplomatic Conference that concluded the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled; and worked extensively on promoting better policies for the intellectual property chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). She also has prior experience as the staff attorney for Universities Allied for Essential Medicines, an organization that promotes access to medicines, particularly those technologies created through federal funding.

Krista received her JD from the University of Notre Dame and her BA in English from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is licensed to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the State Bar of California.

Michael Ferrantino, World Bank Lead Economist

Michael J. Ferrantino is Lead Economist in the World Bank Group Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice. Prior to joining the Bank, he was Lead International Economist at the US International Trade Commission. Michael’s published research spans a wide array of topics relating to international trade, including non-tariff measures and trade facilitation, global value chains, the relationship of trade to the environment, innovation, and productivity, and US-China trade. He has taught at Southern Methodist, Youngstown State, Georgetown, American, and George Washington Universities. Michael’s recent work includes: “The Benefits of Trade Facilitation: A Modelling Exercise,” prepared for the World Economic Forum’s January 2013 report on supply chains, “Enabling Trade: Valuing Growth Opportunities;” a chapter on non-tariff measures in The Ashgate Research Companion to International Trade Policy (2012); and “Evasion Behaviors of Exporters and Importers; Evidence from the U.S.-China Trade Data Discrepancy,” with Xuepeng Liu and Zhi Wang, Journal of International Economics, 2012. Michael holds a PhD from Yale University.

Paul Fehlinger, Manager and Co-Founder, Internet & Jurisdiction Project

Paul Fehlinger is the Manager and Co-Founder of the Internet & Jurisdiction Project. He is actively engaged in global Internet fora, including as a speaker at venues such as the UN Internet Governance Forum, OECD, or Council of Europe. Paul was appointed to the Advisory Network of the Global Commission on Internet Governance and to the Working Group on Rule of Law of the Freedom Online Coalition. He is also a participant in the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on Cross-border Flow of Internet Traffic and Internet Freedom, and the World Economic Forum’s Future of the Internet Initiative.

He holds a Master in International Relations from Sciences Po Paris, where he specialized in Internet politics and new modes of global governance. He was a scholar of the German National Merit Foundation (Studienstiftung), a visiting researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies and holds a BA in European Studies from Maastricht University. Prior to launching the Internet & Jurisdiction Project, Paul wanted to become a journalist and worked for a political news broadcaster in Berlin and an international radio station in Paris.

Sean Flynn, Professional Lecturer, American University School of Law

Sean Flynn teaches courses on the intersection of intellectual property, trade law, and human rights and is the Associate Director of the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP). At PIJIP, Professor Flynn designs and manages a wide variety of research and advocacy projects that promote public interests in intellectual property and information law and coordinates PIJIP’s academic program, including events, student advising and curriculum development. Professor Flynn’s research examines legal frameworks promoting access to essential goods and services. He serves as counsel for advocacy organizations and state legislatures seeking to promote and defend regulations that promote access to essential medicines. (PIJIP).

Prior to joining WCL, Professor Flynn completed clerkships with Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson on the South African Constitutional Court and Judge Raymond Fisher on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He also represented consumers and local governments as a senior associate with Spiegel & McDiarmid and as senior attorney for the Consumer Project on Technology, served on the policy team advising then Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Deval Patrick, and taught Constitutional Law at the University of Witwaterstrand, South Africa.

Damien Levie, EU Delegation, Trade and Agricultural Affairs

Damien Levie heads the Trade and Agriculture Section of the European Union Delegation in Washington, DC.

Before coming to Washington, he was a member of the Cabinet (personal office) of EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht from 2009 to 2012. He subsequently headed the USA and Canada team of the Directorate General for Trade at the European Commission. During that period, he contributed to the pursuit of an ambitious EU trade policy agenda with the Americas, in particular the launch of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations between the U.S. and the EU, for which he was deputy chief negotiator.

Damien joined the European Commission in 2001, working on issues including merger control policy and REACH, the EU’s basic chemical regulation. From 2005 to 2009, he served in the Cabinet of Louis Michel, EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid. During that period, he worked on economic development policy in Africa as well as European economic integration issues.

He has law degrees from KU Leuven and the University of Chicago Law School and an economics degree from UC Louvain. He was a lawyer at a major US law firm in Brussels and New York from 1994 to 2001.

Jeremy Malcolm, Senior Global Policy Analyst, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Jeremy Malcolm joined EFF’s international team in 2014 and works on the international dimensions of issues such as intellectual property, network neutrality, Internet governance, and trade. Prior to that he worked for Consumers International coordinating its global programme Consumers in the Digital Age. Jeremy graduated with degrees in Law (with Honours) and Commerce in 1995 from Murdoch University, and completed his PhD thesis at the same University in 2008 on the topic of Internet governance. Jeremy’s background is as an information technology and intellectual property lawyer and IT consultant. He enjoys acting, writing and coding, and his ambitions include writing an original science fiction novel, learning to juggle and learning Japanese (ideally both at once).

Jeremy is admitted to the bars of the Supreme Court of Western Australia (1995), High Court of Australia (1996) and Appellate Division of New York (2009). He is a former co-coordinator of the Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus, founder of Best Bits, and currently a Steering Committee member of the OECD Civil Society Information Society Advisory Council.

Joshua Meltzer, Senior Fellow, Brookings

Dr. Joshua Meltzer is a senior fellow in Global Economy and Development at the Brookings Institution and an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies. Dr. Meltzer is also a reviewer for the Journal of Politics and Law. His work focuses on international trade law and policy issues relating to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Free Trade Agreements.

Sandy Reback, Director, Global Public Policy, Akamai

Sanford Reback, Director of Global Public Policy at Akamai Technologies, has more than 25 years of policy, business, and legal experience in the technology sector. He served as Deputy General Counsel for Policy at UUNET Technologies, then the world’s largest Internet service provider (ISP); Senior International Counsel at MCI, then a Fortune 100 company; and a senior executive at two venture-backed technology companies. In the Executive Office of the President at the U.S. Trade Representative, Reback helped negotiate NAFTA, the World Trade Organization agreements, and several international technology agreements. Immediately prior to joining Akamai, he was Senior Technology Analyst and Director of Global Business at Bloomberg Government. Reback holds a B.A. in political science from Stanford University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, an M.P.A. from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and was a Fulbright Fellow in London.

Kevin M. Rosenbaum, Of Counsel, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP; Counsel to the International Intellectual Property Alliance

Kevin Rosenbaum has over sixteen years of experience counseling on intellectual property and international trade matters as well as with legislative and regulatory processes and policy development related to international trade and the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in foreign markets. He currently serves as counsel to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), a coalition of five copyright-based industry trade associations (comprised of over 3,200 companies), on international copyright protection and enforcement matters.

Carolina Rossini, Vice President for International Rights and Strategy, Public Knowledge

Carolina Rossini is the Vice President for International Rights and Strategy at Public Knowledge. Previously, Carolina was a Project Director at New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute, the International Intellectual Property Director at Electronic Frontiers Foundation (EFF), and a Fellow at the Berkman Center at Harvard University.

Alongside her work at Public Knowledge, she is a Global Partners Digital International Associate, an X-Lab fellow for New America Foundation, and an Advisory Board Member of Open Knowledge Foundation for both the UK and Brazil. She is also an Advisory Board Member for Saylor Foundation, Instituto Educadigital, and InternetLab. Carolina has an LLM in Intellectual Property from Boston University, an MBA from Instituto de Empresas, an MA in International Economic Negotiations from UNICAMP/UNESP, and a JD from University of Sao Paulo – USP.

Matthew Schruers, Vice President, Law & Policy, Computer & Communications Industry Association

Matthew Schruers is Vice President for Law & Policy at the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), where he represents and advises the association on domestic and international policy issues including intellectual property, competition, and trade. He is also an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center and the Georgetown Graduate School Program on Communication, Culture, and Technology (CCT), where he teaches courses on intellectual property.

Mr. Schruers joined CCIA from Morrison & Foerster LLP in 2005, where he practiced intellectual property, antitrust, and administrative law. Mr. Schruers received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served on the editorial board of the Virginia Law Review, and received his B.A. from Duke University.

Shawn Tan, World Bank

Shawn Tan is an Economist in the World Bank’s Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice. He is currently working on trade policy and private sector development issues for countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. He was in the core team of the 2016 World Development Report “Digital Dividends”, where he authored the international trade sections. Prior to working at the World Bank, he worked at the Singapore Economic Development Board as a senior officer in the International Policy Division, where he was involved in Singapore’s trade agreement negotiations, ASEAN trade and investment forums and trade facilitation for MNCs in Singapore. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics for the University of Melbourne. His research interests are broadly in international trade and the effects of institution, policy and regulation changes on firms.

Diego Molano Vega, former ICT Minister of Colombia

Mr. Molano is Electronic Engineer, born in Boyacá and Master in Economy. Diego Molano Vega is an outstanding international expert in the telecommunications world, area in which he has been working during twenty years in entities as the Colombian Regulatory Commission of Telecommunications (CRT) and multinationals.

Moderators

Maja Andjelkovic, Mobile Innovation Specialist, World Bank

Maja is interested in the potential of entrepreneurship and human ingenuity to contribute to economic, environmental and social development. She has spent over 12 years connecting these fields, including as product manager in a web-technology startup, lead researcher at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, and counselor for Canada for the World Bank Group. Since 2009, she has worked to expand infoDev’s mobile innovation program, including by extending our offering to better serve women founders of tech startups in emerging and frontier markets. Maja is pursuing a doctorate at the University of Oxford under Professor Bill Dutton, with a focus on innovation ecosystems and with support from Oxford University Press.

Victoria Guida, Trade Reporter, POLITICO

Victoria Guida has covered trade for roughly four years, first at Inside U.S. trade and now at POLITICO Pro, the subscriber-only policy side of the Washington publication. Before covering trade, she worked briefly as a business reporter for the Charlotte Observer.

Originally from Dallas, Texas, she is a graduate of the University of Missouri, where she majored in journalism and political science.

Martin Molinuevo, Consultant, World Bank

Martín Molinuevo is a consultant in the World Bank Group Trade and Competitivness Global Practice, where he focuses on international trade in services, trade agreements, and regulation. He has previously worked for a number of international organizations, including the WTO, UNCTAD, and the EU on matters related to trade in services, foreign investment, and dispute settlement. Martin, a lawyer by training, holds a Doctor Iuris magna cum laude from the University of Bern, Switzerland, and has published articles in international journals, contributed chapters to various edited books, and published a book on trade and investment agreements (“Protecting Investing in Services: Investor-State Arbitration vs. WTO Dispute Settlement,” Wolters-Kluwer, 2012).

Hanna Norberg, Tradeeconomista.com

Hanna C. Norberg is an independent Trade Policy Advisor and the founder of TradeEconomista.com. She obtained her Ph.D in International Economics from Lund University, Sweden in 2000. She has substantial experience of both micro and macro economics as well as applied economics from working as advisor, consultant, researcher and university lecturer. Her primary interests are trade, trade policy, economic integration and development. She has extensive experience in policy implication from working numerous trade policy impact assessment projects for the European Commission (FTAs covering the majority of the world e.g. T-TIP, Japan and ASEAN, Korea, various MENA countries, Mercosur) and national governments. In addition, she has done work for ECFIN, OECD, WTO and multiple parts of the Swedish government.

Tracey Samuelson, American Public Media (APM)

Tracey Samuelson is a New-York based reporter for APM’s Marketplace, covering business and economic stories, with a recent focus on international trade and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In addition to Marketplace, her radio stories have appeared on NPR, including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and the Planet Money podcast, as well as in print for The New York Times, New York Magazine, and the Christian Science Monitor, among others.

 

Day 1: May 5, 2:30 – 6:30 PM

2:30 – 4:00 PM: Panel 1, The Enabling Environment for Digital Trade as a Tool for Development

Moderator: Martin Molinuevo, World Bank

Panelists: Abdoul Aziz Sy (CTIC Dakar, Senegal), Daniel Adidwa (Tour2.0, South Africa), Diego Molano Vega (former ICT Minister of Colombia), and Michael Ferrantino(World Bank)

4:00 – 4:15 PM: Coffee Break

4:15 – 5:30 PM: Panel 2, A Conversation on Rethinking IPR Online to Support Development

Moderator: Maja Andjelkovic, World Bank

Panelists: Sean Flynn (Professional Lecturer, American University School of Law), Kevin M. Rosenbaum (Of Counsel, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP; Counsel to the International Intellectual Property Alliance), Rob Atkinson (President, Information Technology and Innnovation Foundation), Krista Cox (Director of Public Policy Initiatives, Association of Research Libraries), and Matthew Schruers (Computer & Communications Industry Association)

5:30 – 6:30 PM: First Keynote, Klaus Tilmes (Director, Trade & Competitiveness, World Bank)

Day 2: May 6, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

9:00 – 10:30 AM: Panel 3, Barriers to Digital Trade as a Tool for Development

Moderator: Victoria Guida, Politico

Panelists: Shawn Tan (principal author of the international trade section of World Development Report 2016, World Bank), Ralph Carter (Managing Director, Federal Express), Anupam Chander (Professor of Law, UC-Davis, author of “The Electronic Silk Road”), and Usman Ahmed (Director, Global Public Policy, PayPal)

10:30 – 11:00 AM: Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:30 PM: Panel 4, Do Provisions Regulating Digital Trade Need a Rethink?

Moderator: Hanna Norberg, Tradeeconomista.com

Panelists: Sandy Reback (Director, Global Public Policy, Akamai), Carolina Rossini (Vice President, International Policy, Public Knowledge), Jeremy Malcolm (Senior Global Policy Analyst, Electronic Frontier Foundation), Damien Levie (EU Delegation, Trade and Agricultural Affairs), and Nicholas Bramble (Public Policy Manager at Google)

12:30 – 2:00 PM: Luncheon Keynote: Susan Lund, Partner, McKinsey Global Institute, McKinsey & Company (author of Digital Globalization—the New Flows)

2:15 – 3:45 PM: Panel 5, Future Barriers to Digital Trade and Digital Trade Agreements

Moderator: Tracey Samuelson, APM

Panelists: Brian Bieron (Director of Public Policy, eBay and Main Street), Joshua Meltzer (Senior Fellow, Brookings), Paul Fehlinger (Internet and Jurisdiction), and Susan Ariel Aaronson (Research Professor and Cross Disciplinary FellowGWU).

 

Susan Aaronson has written extensively on digital trade, raising questions about both the process and the content of digital trade provisions and what they mean for the Open internet, digital rights and digital trade. View her free Course on Digital Trade and Global Internet Governance through ICANN.

Publications

E15Initiative
National Foreign Trade Council

For more informatio

6th Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) Conference

Friday, April 29, 2016

School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University
Bernstein-Offit Building, Room 500
1717 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington D.C. 20036

The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions.

View the Schedule
8:30 – 9:00 AM: Continental Breakfast and Opening Comments
9:00 – 9:45 AM: JaeBin Ahn (International Monetary Fund):
“Reassessing the Productivity Gains from Trade Liberalization”
Discussant: Jennifer Poole (American University)
9:45 – 10:30 AM: Olga Timoshenko (George Washington University):
“Learning, Prices, and Firm Dynamics”
Discussant: Luca David Opromolla (Banco de Portugal, University of Maryland and CEPR)
10:30 – 10:45 AM: Coffee Break
10:45 – 11:30 AM: Mine Senses (Johns Hopkins University):
“Trade Shocks and the Provision of Local Public Goods”
Discussant: Erhan Artuc (World Bank)
11:30 – 12:15 PM: J. Bradford Jensen (Georgetown University, Peterson Institute and NBER):
“The Tradability of Services: Geographic Concentration and Trade Costs”
Discussant: Jose Signoret (US International Trade Commission)
12:15 – 1:00 PM: Lunch Break
1:00 – 2:00 PM: Kadee Russ (University of California-Davis, Council of Economic Advisers and NBER):
“Trade Policy in Practice: The TPP from an Insider’s Perspective”
2:00 – 2:15 PM: Coffee Break
2:15 – 3:00 PM: Maria Tito (Federal Reserve Board):
“Misallocation, Trade, and Productivity: Evidence from Chinese Data”
Discussant: Maggie Chen (George Washington University)
3:00 – 3:45 PM: Chad P. Bown (Peterson Institute and CEPR):
“Global Supply Chains and Trade Policy”
Discussant: Juan Blyde (Inter-American Development Bank)
3:45 – 4:00 PM: Coffee Break
4:00 – 4:45 PM: Claire Brunel (American University):
“Green Innovation and Green Manufacturing: Links Between Environmental Policies, Innovation and Production”
Discussant: Cristina Tello Trillo (Census Bureau)
4:45 – 5:00 PM: Closing Remarks

George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

Economics and Political Economy of Africa

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

Hosted by the Institute for International Economic Policy at George Washington University, this conference brings together scholars to discuss important new research on the political economy and economics of sub-Saharan Africa. The core organizers are Remi Jedwab (ESIA and Department of Economics at GWU) and Eric Kramon (ESIA And Department of Political Science at GWU). Faculty presenters include Richard Akresh, Jenny Aker, Pascaline Dupas, Evan Lieberman, Edward Miguel, Ameet Morjaria, Nathan Nunn, and Leonard Wantchekon.

Core Organizers

Rémi Jedwab, Assistant Professor of Economics

Rémi Jedwab is an assistant professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Elliott School and the Department of Economics of George Washington University. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the Paris School of Economics. He was also a visiting Ph.D. student at the London School of Economics for three years. Professor Jedwab’s main field of research is urban economics, though his work also has strong development economics, public economics/political economy and economic history themes. Some of the issues he has studied include urbanization and structural transformation, the economic effects of transportation infrastructure, and agricultural and economic development in Africa. His research has been published in the American Economic Review, the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Economic Journal and the Journal of Economic Growth. Recently, Professor Jedwab research areas have included the phenomenon of urbanization without economic growth, and his research has been highlighted by The Atlantic’s CityLab and the Boston Globe.

Eric Kramon, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs

Professor Kramon’s research focuses on barriers to accountability and good governance in developing democracies, with a regional focus on sub-Saharan Africa. His current book project examines the causes and consequences of vote buying during African elections. Other projects investigate the role of election observation in promoting electoral quality; ethnicity and the politics of public goods provision; and the determinants of ethnic voting.

 

Speakers and Discussants

Keynote Speakers

 

Ambassador Reuben E. Brigety II, The George Washington University

Ambassador Reuben E. Brigety II most recently served as the appointed Representative of the United States of America to the African Union and Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN Economic Commission for Africa on September 3, 2013. Prior to this appointment, Ambassador Brigety served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of African Affairs from November 14, 2011 until September 3, 2013 with responsibility for Southern African and Regional Security Affairs.

From December 2009 to November 2011, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. In this capacity, he supervised U.S. refugee programs in Africa, managed U.S. humanitarian diplomacy with major international partners, and oversaw the development of international migration policy.

A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Ambassador Brigety previously served as Director of the Sustainable Security Program at the Center for American Progress from January 2008 to November 2009 and as a Special Assistant in the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance at the U.S. Agency for International Development from January 2007 to January 2008. From November 2008 to January 2009, he also served as a senior advisor for Development and Security to the U.S. Central Command Assessment Team in Washington and in Doha, Qatar.

Ambassador Brigety is a 1995 distinguished midshipman graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, where he earned a B.S. in political science (with merit), served as the Brigade Commander and received the Thomas G. Pownall Scholarship. He also holds an M.Phil. and a Ph.D. in international relations from the University of Cambridge, England. Ambassador Brigety is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a recipient of the Council’s International Affairs Fellowship.

Edward Miguel, UC Berkeley

Edward Miguel is the Oxfam Professor of Environmental and Resource Economics and Faculty Director of the Center for Effective Global Action at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 2000. He earned S.B. degrees in both Economics and Mathematics from MIT, received a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University, where he was a National Science Foundation Fellow, and has been a visiting professor at Princeton University and Stanford University. Ted’s main research focus is African economic development, including work on the economic causes and consequences of violence; the impact of ethnic divisions on local collective action; interactions between health, education, environment, and productivity for the poor; and methods for transparency in social science research. He has conducted field work in Kenya, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and India. Ted is a Faculty Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, has served as Associate Editor of the Quarterly Journal of Economics and Journal of Development Economics, is a recipient of the 2005 Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, and winner of the 2005 Kenneth J. Arrow Prize awarded annually by the International Health Economics Association for the Best Paper in Health Economics.

He co-founded the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) in 2007 and serves as Faculty Director. He has served as the Co-organizer (with Dan Posner of UCLA) of theWorklng Group in African Political Economy (WGAPE) since 2002. Ted is also the co-founder and Faculty Director of the Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences (BITSS).

Miguel has written two books, Africa’s Turn? (MIT Press 2009), and, with Ray Fisman, Economic Gangsters: Corruption, Violence and the Poverty of Nations(Princeton University Press 2008). Economic Gangsters has been translated into ten languages, and the New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof praises it as “smart and eminently readable”. Miguel’s other writing has appeared in Foreign Affairs, Forbes, and the New York Times.

Leonard Wantchekon, Princeton University & African School of Economics

Wantchekon is Professor in the Politics department and Woodrow Wilson School, and associated faculty in the Economics department at Princeton University. His research is broadly focused on political and economic development, particularly in Africa. His specific interests include the political economy of infrastructure provision, education and human capital externalities, democratization, clientelism and redistributive politics, the resource curse, and the long-term social impact of historical events. He is the author of numerous publications in leading academic journals such as American Economic Review, the Quarterly Journal pf Economics, the American Political Science Review, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, the journal of Law, Economics and Organization and, World Politics. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the founder the African School of Economics (ASE), which opened in Benin in September 2014.

Speakers

Jenny C. Aker, Tufts University

Jenny C. Aker is an Associate Professor of Development Economics at the Fletcher School and Department of Economics at Tufts University. She is also a Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Global Development , a member of the Advisory Board for CDA, Frontline SMS and the Boston Network for International Development (BNID) . She also serves as the Deputy Director of the Hitachi Center for Technology and International Affairs and is the Interim Director for the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP). After working for Catholic Relief Services as Deputy Regional Director in West and Central Africa between 1998 and 2003, Jenny completed her PhD in agricultural economics at the University of California-Berkeley. Jenny works on economic development in Africa, with a primary focus on the impact of information (and information technology) on development outcomes, particularly in the areas of agriculture, agricultural markets, adult education and financial inclusion; the determinants and impacts of agricultural technology adoption; and the impact of different mechanisms and modalities of social protection (cash and in-kind transfers). Jenny has conducted field work in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, DRC, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Tanzania, as well as Haiti and Guatemala.

Richard Akresh, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Richard Akresh is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University in 2004. His research focuses on child health and education in Africa and spans the fields of development, health, and labor economics. He has explored the impact of conflict on human capital and health investments for young children as well as the long-term consequences of exposure to war as a child. He has studied how household structure and sibling rivalry impact households’ decisions concerning educational investments in their children. He has conducted randomized control trials of alternative ways to deliver cash transfers to poor households in Africa to improve child health and education. He is also interested in questions about child labor, migration, and intra-household bargaining. He is a Research Associate of the NBER, a BREAD Research Affiliate, a Research Fellow at IZA, and a Senior Affiliate at HiCN.

Eric Kramon, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs

Professor Kramon’s research focuses on barriers to accountability and good governance in developing democracies, with a regional focus on sub-Saharan Africa. His current book project examines the causes and consequences of vote buying during African elections. Other projects investigate the role of election observation in promoting electoral quality; ethnicity and the politics of public goods provision; and the determinants of ethnic voting.

 

Evan S. Lieberman, MIT

Evan Lieberman is the Total Professor of Political Science and Contemporary Africa at MIT. Previously, Lieberman was a member of the faculty at Princeton University for 12 years, and a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Scholar at Yale University. He received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and his BA from Princeton. Lieberman’s research is concerned with understanding the determinants of good governance and policy-making, and the causes and consequences of ethnic conflict, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. He also writes and teaches on research methods for comparative analysis. Lieberman is the author of two scholarly books, Race and Regionalism in the Politics of Taxation (Cambridge 2003) and Boundaries of Contagion: How Ethnic Politics Have Shaped Government Responses to AIDS (Princeton 2009) and numerous scholarly articles that have appeared in the American Political Science Review, Comparative Political Studies, World Development, Social Science and Medicine, and other journals. He received the David Collier mid-career achievement award at the 2014 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association. Lieberman serves on the board of directors of the Southern African Legal Services Foundation, the international advisory board of the African School of Economics, and is a member of the egap network.

Ameet Morjaria, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Ameet Morjaria is an Assistant Professor of Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences at Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. Prior to joining Kellogg in 2015, he was an Academy Scholar at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs and a Giorgio Ruffolo Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Sustainability Science Program at the Centre for International Development, Harvard Kennedy School. He completed his PhD in Economics at the London School of Economics. His research interests are in development economics, organizations and political economy. His current research focuses on understanding the impact of competition on productivity and relational contracts, industrial policy in developing countries, the impact of electoral conflict on firm operations, and the political economy of resource management in weak democracies. He has consulted for the World Bank, Kaiser Associates and prior to graduate school worked in investment banking at Deutsche Bank.

Nathan Nunn, Harvard University

Nathan Nunn is a Professor of Economics at Harvard University. Professor Nunn was born in Canada, where he received his PhD from the University of Toronto in 2005. Professor Nunn’s primary research interests are in economic history, economic development, cultural economics, political economy and international trade. He is an NBER Faculty Research Fellow, a Research Fellow at BREAD, and a Faculty Associate at Harvard’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (WCFIA). He is currently a co-editor of the Journal of Development Economics. One stream of Professor Nunn’s research focuses on the long-term impact that historic events have on current economic development. In particular, he has studied how history shapes the evolution of institutions and cultures across societies. He has published research empirically examining the historical foundations of current outcomes such as distrust, gender norms, religion, and support for democracy. A second stream of Professor Nunn’s research examines economic development in a contemporary context. He has published research examining the effects of Fair Trade certification, CIA interventions, industrial policy, and foreign aid. A third stream of Professor Nunn’s research focuses on the importance of contracting institutions for international trade. He has published research showing that a country’s ability to enforce written contracts is a key determinant of comparative advantage, as well as research examining how contracting frictions affects firms decision to engage in FDI versus outsourcing.

Rebecca Thornton, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Rebecca Thornton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. Prior to that, Dr. Thornton was in the Department of Economics and a Research Affiliate at the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan. Dr. Thornton completed her PhD in Political Economy and Government with a joint degree from the Harvard University Economics Department and the J.F. Kennedy School of Government in 2006. She was an NIA post-doc from 2006 to 2008 at the University of Michigan Population Studies Center. Her research focuses on health and education in developing countries including topics such as HIV prevention, reproductive health, primary education, and social networks. Dr. Thornton is an affiliate with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) whose main aims are to use experimental methods to translate research into policy action and alleviate poverty in the developing world. She is also a junior affiliate in BREAD (Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development).

Discussants

 

Sarah Baird, The George Washington University

Sarah Baird is an Associate Professor of Global Health and Economics in the Department of Global Health. She is also an Affiliated Faculty at The Institute for International Economic Policy (IIEP) at the Elliot School of International Affairs. Dr. Baird is a development economist whose research focuses on the microeconomics of health and education in developing countries with an emphasis on Sub-Saharan Africa. She has worked on areas as diverse as the schooling and health of young women in Malawi, community-driven development in Tanzania, deworming in Kenya, and global infant mortality. She received her Ph.D. in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Berkeley in 2007.

Markus Goldstein, The World Bank

Markus Goldstein is a development economist with experience working in Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, and South Asia. He is currently a Lead Economist in the Office of the Chief Economist for Africa at the World Bank, where he leads the Gender Innovation Lab. His current research centers on issues of gender and economic activity, focusing on agriculture and small scale enterprises. He is currently involved in a number of impact evaluations on these topics across Africa. Markus has taught at the London School of Economics, the University of Ghana, Legon, and Georgetown University. He holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.

James Habyarimana, Georgetown University

James Habyarimana joined the McCourt School Public Policy in 2004 after completing doctoral studies at Harvard University. His main research interests are in Development Economics and Political Economy. In particular he is interested in understanding the issues and constraints in health, education and the private sectors in developing countries. In health he is working on understanding the impact of policy responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa and evaluating a number of health improving interventions in road safety and water, sanitation and hygiene. In education, his work focuses on identifying programs and policies to improve access and quality of secondary schooling. His primary regional focus is Africa. He has been a non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development. At the McCourt School, James teaches the second course in regression methods and courses on the history of development and education and health policy in developing countries.

Adrienne LeBas, American University

Adrienne LeBas (PhD, Columbia University) joined the Department of Government in the fall of 2009. Prior to joining AU, LeBas was a Prize Research Fellow at Nuffield College, University of Oxford, and Assistant Professor of Political Science and African Studies at Michigan State University. Her research interests include social movements, democratization, and political violence. She is the author of the award-winning From Protest to Parties: Party-Building and Democratization in Africa (Oxford University Press, 2011) and articles in the British Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Democracy, Comparative Politics, and elsewhere. LeBas also worked as a consultant for Human Rights Watch in Zimbabwe, where she lived from 2002 to 2003. Her most recent work looks at attitudes toward taxation in urban Nigeria. During the 2015-2016 academic year, LeBas will be a residential fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. She will be working on her second book, which investigates the reasons for persistent election violence in some democratizing countries.

Kenneth Leonard, University of Maryland

Kenneth Leonard is an associate professor in the department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Maryland, specializing in the delivery of public services to rural populations in Africa. He has lived and worked in several African countries, including Cameroun, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Liberia. His work has highlighted the important roles played by both traditional healers and nongovernmental organizations in the delivery of health care as well as the ways that social networks within communities help individuals to make better decisions.

 

 

John McCauley, University of Maryland

Dr. McCauley is an Assistant Professor of Government and Politics. His research focuses on ethnic and religious conflict, economic development, and informal political institutions in Africa. He has published articles on these topics in the American Political Science Review, Comparative Political Studies, Political Psychology, and Political Science Research and Methods, among others. His book manuscript, The Logic of Ethnic and Religious Conflict in Africa, is currently under review. Dr. McCauley received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2010. He has a B.A. in Economics from the College of William & Mary and an M.A. in International Relations from Yale University. Prior to joining the faculty at Maryland, he was a post-doctoral research fellow in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In addition to his research, Dr. McCauley teaches courses on the Politics of the Developing World, African Politics, Field Research Methods, and Religion and Politics around the World. In 2013, he was awarded the Excellence in Teaching award from the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences.

Mũthoni Ngatia, Tufts University

Mũthoni Ngatia is an assistant professor of Economics at Tufts University. She is currently on sabbatical at the World Bank. Her research has looked at how social networks affect individuals’ behaviour in developing countries. She has an A.B. in Applied Mathematics and Economics from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University. Mũthoni is the recipient of grants from J-PAL, PEDL, Kilimo Trust, and The Russell Sage Foundation among others.

 

Ken Opalo, Georgetown University

Ken Opalo is an Assistant Professor at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. His research interests include the political economy of development; legislative development; and electoral politics in emerging democracies. Ken’s current book project examines the evolution of legislatures in emerging democracies, with a focus on explaining the observed variation in the institutionalization and strength of African legislatures.

Session Chairs

 

Derick Brinkerhoff, The George Washington University & RTI

Dr. Derick W. Brinkerhoff is Distinguished Fellow in International Public Management with RTI International (Research Triangle Institute) and is an associate faculty member at George Washington University’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. His research and consulting focuses on policy implementation, democracy and governance, decentralization, citizen participation, social accountability, partnerships, and fragile conflict-affected states. He has worked with international donors, public sector agencies, NGOs, and the US military across a broad range of development sectors in 30 countries, with a long-term focus on the health sector. From 1990-2001, he was research director of USAID’s Implementing Policy Change project. Dr. Brinkerhoff is a co-editor for the journal, Public Administration and Development; and serves on the editorial board of International Review of Administrative Sciences. He is the co-chair of the governance work group of the Society for International Development’s Washington DC chapter. He has published extensively, including eight books and numerous articles and book chapters. He holds a doctorate in public policy and administration from Harvard University and a masters in public administration from the University of California, Riverside. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Jennifer Brinkerhoff, The George Washington University

Jennifer M. Brinkerhoff is Professor of Public Administration and International Affairs at the George Washington University. She holds a Ph.D. in public administration from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and an MPA from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. She teaches courses on public service, international development policy and administration, development management, and organizational behavior. She is particularly keen on encouraging people to pursue service careers, thoughtfully grounding their commitment to change in self-awareness and working in communities. To that end, she and her husband, Derick W. Brinkerhoff, published Working for Change: Making a Career in International Public Service (Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press, 2005). Dr. Brinkerhoff has expertise on public-private partnership, governance, NGOs, development management, and diasporas. Her publications include seven books, as well as four co-edited journal issues and over fifty articles and book chapters on topics ranging from institutional reform, to evaluation; NGOs; failed states; governance; and diaspora identity, development contributions, citizenship, and policy. She is the author of Institutional Reform and Diaspora Entrepreneurs: The In-Between Advantage (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2016), Digital Diasporas: Identity and Transnational Engagement (Cambridge University Press, 2009) and Partnership for International Development: Rhetoric or Results? (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2002); and co-editor of NGOs and the Millennium Development Goals: Citizen Action to Reduce Poverty (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2007). Dr. Brinkerhoff consults for multilateral development banks, bilateral assistance agencies, NGOs, and foundations. Her applied work encompasses partnership, civil society, institutional development, development management, and training methodologies, and includes work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands; and in Africa, China, Mongolia, Central Asia, and Russia for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank. She has provided policy advice to the U.S. State Department on its diaspora engagement strategy and conducted diaspora-related commissioned research for USAID, the Asia Development Bank, the Migration Policy Institute, the Nordic Africa Institute, the United Nations, and the World Bank. She has also advised studies for the Africa Diaspora Policy Centre, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. She has delivered training related to diasporas and development to U.S. State Department Foreign Service and Desk Officers, USAID staff, international development consulting firms, and diaspora organizations and other government officials in the U.S., the Netherlands, and Sweden.

James Foster, The George Washington University

James E. Foster is Professor of Economics and International Affairs at the George Washington University. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Cornell University and holds a Doctorate Honoris Causa from Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo (Mexico).

Professor Foster’s research focuses on welfare economics — using economic tools to evaluate and enhance the wellbeing of people. His joint 1984 Econometrica paper (with Joel Greer and Erik Thorbecke) is one of the most cited papers on poverty. It introduced the FGT Index, which has been used in thousands of studies and was employed in targeting the Progresa CCT program in México. Other research includes work on economic inequality with Amartya Sen; on the distribution of human development with Luis Felipe Lopez-Calva and Miguel Szekely; on multidimensional poverty with Sabina Alkire; and on literacy with Kaushik Basu. Foster regularly teaches introductory and doctoral courses on international development and each spring joins with Professor Basu in presenting an undergraduate course on Game Theory and Strategic Thinking, to which staff and Board members of the World Bank are also invited.

Professor Foster is also Research Fellow at the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), Department of International Development, Oxford University, and a member of the Human Capital and Economic Opportunity (HCEO) Working Group, Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics, University of Chicago. This year he is serving on the World Bank’s Commission on Global Poverty.

Stephen Smith, The George Washington University

Stephen C. Smith is Professor of Economics and International Affairs at George Washington University, where he is Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy. He received his PhD in economics from Cornell University and has been a Fulbright Research Scholar, a Fulbright Senior Specialist, a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and a Jean Monnet Research Fellow; he is currently a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, an IZA Research Fellow, and a member of the Advisory Council of BRAC USA. He is Principal Investigator for the research project, “Complementarities of Training, Technology, and Credit in Smallholder Agriculture: Impact, Sustainability, and Policy for Scaling-up in Senegal and Uganda,” funded by BASIS / USAID. From 2009-2012, Smith served a previous term as Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy, where he helped create its four signature initiatives: climate adaptation in developing countries; extreme poverty; global economic governance; and the “G2 at GW” series. In the 1990s, he designed and served as first director of GW’s International Development Studies Program. From 2004-2008, he served as co-Principal Investigator, along with Prof. Jim Williams, of GW’s partnership with BRAC University (in Bangladesh). Professor Smith has also served as director of the Research Program in Poverty, Development, and Globalization.directs the Research Program in Poverty, Development, and Globalization. Smith has done on-site research and program work in several regions of the developing world including Bangladesh, China, Ecuador, India, Uganda, and Former Yugoslavia, and has been a consultant for the World Bank, the International Labour Office (ILO, Geneva), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Institute for Development Economics Research (UN-WIDER, Helsinki). Smith has also conducted extensive research on the economics of employee participation, including works councils, ESOPs, and labor cooperatives, which has included on-site research in Italy, Spain, and Germany, as well as China and India.

Tentative Schedule for Economics and Political Economy of Africa

Lindner Commons, 1957 E St. NW, 6th floor

8:30 – 9:10AM: Breakfast and Welcome

  • 8:30 – 9:00AM: Breakfast
  • 9:00 – 9:10AM: Welcome

9:10 – 10:50AM: Session I

 Chair: Stephen Smith, Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy, George Washington University

Discussant: Adrienne Lebas (American University)

Discussant: Muthoni Ngatia (Tufts University)

10:50 – 11:00AM: Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:40PM: Session II

 Chair: James Foster (George Washington University)

    • 11:00 – 11:50AM: Child Labor, Schooling, and Child AbilityRichard Akresh (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), joint with Emilie Bagby (UIUC), Damien de Walque (World Bank), and Harounan Kazianga (Oklahoma).

Discussant: Sarah Baird (George Washington University)

Discussant: Markus Goldstein (The World Bank)

12:40 – 1:50PM: Lunch

1:50 – 3:30PM: Session III

 Chair: Jennifer Brinkerhoff (George Washington University)

    • 1:50 – 2:40PM: Bride Price and Female EducationNathan Nunn (Harvard University), joint with Nava Ashraf (LSE), Natalie Bau (Toronto), and Alessandra Voena (Chicago).

Discussant: Kenneth Leonard (University of Maryland)

Discussant: James Habyarimana (Georgetown University)

3:30 – 3:50PM: Coffee Break

3:50 – 5:30PM: Session IV

 Chair: Derick Brinkerhoff (George Washington University & RTI)

Discussant: John McCauley (University of Maryland)

Discussant: Ken Opalo (Georgetown University)

5:30 – 5:50PM: Coffee Break

5:50 – 7:00PM: Keynote Speakers

  • 5:50 – 6:00PM: Ambassador Reuben E. Brigety II, Dean, The Elliott School of International Affairs
  • 6:00 – 6:10PM: Presentation of the African School of Economics. Leonard Wantchekon, African School of Economics and Princeton University
  • 6:10 – 7:00PM: Prospects for Rural Electrification in Africa. Edward Miguel, UC Berkeley

7:00 – 8:30PM: Reception with African Beer and Wine

The Star and the Stripes: A History of the Foreign Policies of American Jews

 

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

5:30 to 7:30pm

 

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

Please join the GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs, Institute for Security and Conflict Studies, and Institute for Middle East Studies for a panel discussion featuring Michael Barnett, University Professor of Political Science and International Affairs (GWU), Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development (University of Maryland), and Tamara Wittes, Director of the Center for Middle East Policy (The Brookings Institution) on Barnett’s new book, “The Star and the Stripes: A History of the Foreign Policies of American Jews.”

 

 

4th Annual Conference Washington Area Development Economics Symposium (WADES)

Friday, April 8, 2016

Elliott School for International Affairs
1957 E St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20052

 

The Washington Area Development Economics Symposium (WADES) is an annual research conference which highlights academic work from researchers at leading economics institutions in development economics in the Washington DC area. Researchers from George Washington University, University of Maryland, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Virginia, the World Bank, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), American University, George Mason University, and the Center for Global Development are all participants in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions.

George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

Third Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Research Conference

This conference hosted by the World Bank, George Washington University (Institute for International Economic Policy), the NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management, the NYU Urbanization Project, and The Growth Dialogue brings together academics and development practitioners to present and discuss the challenges of sustainable urbanization in developing countries.

Addressing environmental change in urban areas is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, particularly given that the world is now more than half urban, and Africa and Asia are experiencing unprecedented rates of urban population growth. Cities themselves are a major contributor to this challenge, as they consume an enormous share of the world’s energy and emit large amounts of carbon dioxide. At the same time, they are heavily vulnerable to climate change and increasingly exposed to climate induced risks (including floods from rising sea levels and higher precipitation, destruction from stronger cyclones and storms, and periods of extreme heat and cold). The phenomenon of urbanization itself is also likely to be significantly altered by environmentally induced migration. Despite these risks, many cities have not created or implemented crucially needed policies to attenuate the causes of climate change and to effectively protect cities from its impacts.

Rémi Jedwab, Assistant Professor of Economics

Rémi Jedwab is an assistant professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Elliott School and the Department of Economics of George Washington University. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the Paris School of Economics. He was also a visiting Ph.D. student at the London School of Economics for three years. Professor Jedwab’s main field of research is urban economics, though his work also has strong development economics, public economics/political economy and economic history themes. Some of the issues he has studied include urbanization and structural transformation, the economic effects of transportation infrastructure, and agricultural and economic development in Africa. His research has been published in the American Economic Review, the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Economic Journal and the Journal of Economic Growth. Recently, Professor Jedwab research areas have included the phenomenon of urbanization without economic growth, and his research has been highlighted by The Atlantic’s CityLab and the Boston Globe.

 

Danny M. Leipziger, Professor of International Business, GWU and Managing Director, The Growth Dialogue

Danny Leipziger is Professor of International Business, George Washington University, Managing Director, the Growth Dialogue, and an IIEP affiliate faculty member. He is former Vice President of the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network (2004–09) at the World Bank. Over the course of his 28-year career at the World Bank, he has held management positions in the East Asia Region and the Latin America and Caribbean Region as well as in the World Bank Institute. Prior to joining the Bank, Dr. Leipziger served in senior positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of State. He also has been a Vice Chair of the independent Commission on Growth and Development (2006-2010). He has published widely on topics of development economics and finance, industrial policy, and banking, including books on Korea, Chile, and East Asia and recent volumes Globalization and Growth (with Michael Spence) and Stuck in the Middle (with Antonio Estache) and the most recent – Ascent after Decline: Regrowing Global Economies after the Great Recession (with Otaviano Canuto).

 

Paul Romer, Professor of Economics, NYU Stern School of Business and Director of the Urbanization Project

Paul Romer, an economist and policy entrepreneur, is University Professor at NYU and director of the Marron Institute of Urban Management. He is also the founding director of the Urbanization Project at the NYU Stern Urbanization Project. The Urbanization Project conducts applied research on the many ways in which policymakers in the developing world can use the rapid growth of cities to create economic opportunity and undertake systemic social reform. Before coming to NYU, Paul taught at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. While there, Paul took an entrepreneurial detour to start Aplia, an education technology company dedicated to increasing student effort and classroom engagement. Paul serves on the board of trustees for the Carnegie Endowment for the Advancement of Teaching. He is also a member of the board of directors for Community Solutions, a national not-for-profit dedicated to strengthening communities and ending homelessness. In 2002, he received the Recktenwald Prize for his work on the role of ideas in sustaining economic growth.

 

Harris Selod, Senior Economist, The World Bank

Harris Selod is a Senior Economist with the Development Research Group of the World Bank. His current research focuses on urban development, including issues related to transport and land use, as well as land tenure, land markets and the political economy of the land sector in developing countries, with a specific interest in West Africa. His publications cover a variety of topics in urban and public economics including theories of squatting and residential informality, the political economy of transport infrastructure, the effects of residential segregation on schooling and unemployment, or the impact of land rights formalization and place-based policies. He has been chair of the World Bank’s Land Policy and Administration Thematic Group (2011-2013) and is currently leading a World Bank research program on transp

 

Keynote Speakers

Jan K. Brueckner

Professor of Economics, University of California-Irvine

Jan K. Brueckner (AB, UC Berkeley; PhD, Stanford University) was long- time faculty member at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before coming to UCI in 2005. Brueckner has published extensively in the reas of urban economics, public economics, housing finance, and the economics of the airline industry, with more than 125 journal articles to his credit. He is also author of an innovative new textbook, Lectures on Urban Economics (MIT Press, 2011). Brueckner served as editor of the Journal of Urban Economics for 16 years and is currently a member of the editorial boards of 6 journals. He has served as a consultant to the World Bank, many of the major airlines, and other organizations.

Matthew Kahn

Professor, UCLA Institute of the Environment, the Department of Economics, and the Department of Public Policy

Matthew E. Kahn is a Professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment, the Department of Economics, and the Department of Public Policy. He is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Before joining the UCLA faculty in January 2007, he taught at Columbia and the Fletcher School at Tufts University. He has served as a Visiting Professor at Harvard and Stanford. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago. He is the author of Green Cities: Urban Growth and the Environment (Brookings Institution Press 2006) and the co-author of Heroes and Cowards: The Social Face of War (Princeton University Press 2009). His research focuses on environmental, urban, real estate and energy economics.

Chairs and Panelists

Kaushik Basu

Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, World Bank

Kaushik Basu is Senior Vice President (Development Economics) and Chief Economist of the World Bank. Prior to this, he served as Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India and is currently on leave from Cornell University where he is Professor of Economics and the C. Marks Professor of International Studies. Mr. Basu is a Fellow of the Econometric Society and received India’s Padma Bhushan award as well as the National Mahalanobis Memorial award. Mr. Basu’s contributions span development economics, welfare economics, industrial organization and game theory.

Michael Cohen

Director, Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy

Michael Cohen is an urban and development policy specialist. He worked at the World Bank from 1972 to 1999 and was responsible for much of the bank’s urban policy development during that period. Mr. Cohen has worked in 55 countries and was heavily involved in the World Bank’s work on infrastructure, environment, and sustainable development. His numerous published works include several books on urban development, Africa, and the impact of development assistance. Mr. Cohen has advised governments, NGOs, and academic institutions around the world. He was a member of the Infrastructure Panel and Urban Dynamics Panel of the US National Academy of Science. He has helped the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) prepare its Global Report on Human Settlements in 2005-2012. He is currently the director of The New School’s Observatory on Latin America.

Maureen Cropper

Professor and Chair of the Department of Economics, University of Maryland

Maureen Cropper is a Distinguished University Professor and Chair of the Department of Economics at the University of Maryland. She is also a Senior Fellow at Resources for the Future and former Lead Economist in the Research Department of the World Bank. Dr. Cropper has served as chair of the EPA Science Advisory Board’s Environmental Economics Advisory Committee, and as past president of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. Maureen is currently serving as co-Director of the National Academy of Sciences study on Assessing Approaches to Updating the Social Cost of Carbon. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. Her research interests include valuing environmental amenities and the tradeoffs implicit in environmental regulations, including energy regulations. Her current research focuses on energy efficiency in India and the impact of climate change on migration. Maureen received her Ph.D. in economics from Cornell University in 1973.

Asli Demirgüç-Kunt

Director of Research, Development Economics, World Bank

Asli Demirgüç-Kunt is the Director of Research in the World Bank. After joining the Bank in 1989 as a Young Economist, she has held different positions, including Director of Development Policy, Chief Economist of Financial and Private Sector Development Network, and Senior Research Manager, doing research and advising on financial sector and private sector development issues. She is the lead author of World Bank Policy Research Report 2007, Finance for All? Policies and Pitfalls in Expanding Access. She has also created the World Bank’s Global Financial Development Report and directed the issues on Rethinking the Role of the State in Finance (2013), and Financial Inclusion (2014).

Marianne Fay

Chief Economist, Sustainable Development Vice-Presidency, World Bank Group

Marianne Fay is the Chief Economist of the Climate Change Cross Cutting Solutions Area of the World Bank. She co-directed the World Development Report 2010 on Development and Climate Change and led the World Bank report on Inclusive Green growth: the Pathway to Sustainable Development. She has held positions in different regions of the World Bank (Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa) working on infrastructure, urbanization and climate change. Prior to her current position, she served as the Chief Economist of the former Sustainable Development Network of the World Bank. She is the author of a number of articles and books on these topics. Marianne Fay holds a PhD in Economics from Columbia University.

Stephen Hammer

Manager, Climate Change Group, the World Bank

Stephen Hammer joined the World Bank’s Urban Development and Resilience Unit as a Lead Urban Specialist in February 2013, leading the team’s work on cities and climate change issues. He has more than 25 years of government, consulting, and academic experience on energy, environmental, solid waste, and climate change topics. Prior to joining the Bank he was on the faculty at MIT, where he taught a range of courses on energy policy and planning. He previously founded the Urban Energy Program at Columbia University, where he focused on the policy, market, and regulatory environment of urban energy systems; how climate change will affect urban and regional energy systems; and the modeling of energy demand in cities. He also co-founded and served as co-Director of the Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN), a global network of researchers examining climate change from an urban perspective, and he co-edited the UCCRN’s 2011 volume Climate Change and Cities, published by Cambridge University Press. He currently serves on the editorial boards of the academic journals Urban Climate and Local Environment. Dr. Hammer holds degrees from the London School of Economics, the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and the University of California at Davis.

Stephen C. Smith

Professor of Economics and International Affairs, George Washington University and Director, Institute for International Economic Policy

Stephen C. Smith is Professor of Economics and International Affairs at George Washington University. Smith received his PhD in economics from Cornell University and has been a Fulbright Research Scholar and a Jean Monnet Research Fellow. Smith is also an IZA Research Fellow. He serves as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. From 2009-2012, Smith served as Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy, where he helped create its four signature initiatives: climate adaptation in developing countries; extreme poverty; global economic governance; and the “G2 at GW” series. Smith has done on-site research and program work in several regions of the developing world including Bangladesh, China, Ecuador, India, Uganda, and Former Yugoslavia. Smith has also conducted extensive research on the economics of employee participation, including works councils, ESOPs, and labor cooperatives in developed and developing countries.

Sameh Wahba

Practice Manager, Urban, Rural and Social Development, World Bank

Sameh Wahba is Sector Manager, Urban Development and Resilience Unit, World Bank, where he is responsible for the Bank’s urban policy, strategy, and analytics at the global level. Prior to this position, Wahba was the Brazil Sector Leader of the Sustainable Development Department at the World Bank’s Latin America and the Caribbean Region, where he was responsible for coordinating the bank’s investment program and policy advisory/analytical services in Brazil in the areas of urban development, infrastructure, disaster risk management, and social development, as well as coordinating the bank’s portfolio in several states including Sao Paulo. Since joining the World Bank in 2004, he has worked on urban development, housing, and infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East and North Africa Regions. While at the World Bank, he has managed numerous investment and technical assistance activities related to housing, land and urban upgrading policy, infrastructure, local economic development, municipal/urban development issues, and disaster risk management in several countries. Prior to joining the bank, he worked at the Institute of Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) in Rotterdam and at the Harvard Center for Urban Development Studies in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Shahid Yusuf

Chief Economist of the Growth Dialogue

Shahid Yusuf is Chief Economist of the Growth Dialogue. Dr. Yusuf has written extensively on development issues, with a special focus on East Asia and has also published widely in various academic journals. He has authored or edited 24 books on industrial and urban development, innovation systems and tertiary education. His five most recent books are: Development Economics through the Decades (2009); Tiger Economies under Threat (co-authored with Kaoru Nabeshima, 2009); Two Dragonheads: Contrasting development paths for Beijing and Shanghai (co-authored with Kaoru Nabeshima 2010); Changing the Industrial Geography in Asia: The Impact of China and India (co-authored with Kaoru Nabeshima 2010); and China Urbanizes (co-edited with Tony Saich, 2008). Dr. Yusuf holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University, and a BA in Economics from Cambridge University. He joined the World Bank in 1974 as a Young Professional and while at the Bank spent more than 35 years tackling issues confronting developing countries. During his tenure at the World Bank, Dr. Yusuf was the team leader for the World Bank-Japan project on East Asia’s Future Economy from 2000-2009. He was the Director of the World Development Report 1999/2000, Entering the 21st Century. Prior to that, he was Economic Adviser to the Senior Vice President and Chief Economist (1997-98), Lead Economist for the East Africa Department (1995-97) and Lead Economist for the China and Mongolia Department (1989-1993). Dr. Yusuf lives in Washington DC and consults with the World Bank and with other organizations.

Discussants

Antonio Bento

Professor of Economics, University of Southern California

Antonio M. Bento is a professor at the Sol Price School of Public Policy and the Department of Economics of the University of Southern California. He is also a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), and a research fellow of the Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy. Currently, he serves as the Director of the Graduate Programs in Public Policy at the Sol Price School.

Gilles Duranton

Professor of Real Estate, Wharton School

Gilles Duranton is professor of real estate and holds the Dean’s Chair in Real Estate. He joined the Wharton School in 2012 after holding academic positions at the University of Toronto and the London School of Economics. A graduate from HEC Paris and Sorbonne University, he obtained his PhD in economics jointly from the London School of Economics and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science Sociales in Paris. His research focuses on urban and transportation issues. His empirical work is concerned with urban growth and the estimation of the costs and benefits of cities and clusters. He is also interested in the effects of transportation infrastructure on urban development and the evaluation of local policies. He also conducts theoretical research to gain insight about the distribution of city sizes, the skill composition, and sectoral patterns of activities in cities.

Stéphane Hallegatte

Senior Economist, Climage Change Group, The World Bank

Stéphane Hallegatte is senior economist with the World Bank, in the office of the chief economist of the Climate Change Group. His work includes green growth and climate change mitigation strategies, urban economics, and climate change adaptation and disaster risk management. He is lead author of the IPCC for its fifth assessment report. He also co-led the World Bank report “Inclusive Green Growth” in 2012, and published dozen of articles and several books, including “Natural disasters and climate change – an economic perspective” in 2014. Stephane Hallegatte holds an engineering degree from the Ecole Polytechnique and a PhD in economics from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris.

Presenters

Shlomo Angel

Senior Research Scholar, NYU Stern Urbanization Project

Shlomo (Solly) Angel is an Adjunct Professor at NYU and senior research scholar at the NYU Stern Urbanization Project, where he leads the Urban Expansion initiative. Angel is an expert on urban development policy, having advised the United Nations, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). He currently focuses on documenting and planning for urban expansion in the developing world. Angel earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture and a doctorate in city and regional planning at the University of California, Berkeley.

Alain Bertaud

Adjunct Professor, Marron Institute

Alain Bertaud is an Adjunct Professor at the Marron Institute and a senior research scholar at the NYU Stern Urbanization Project. At the moment, he is writing a book about urban planning that is tentatively titled Order Without Design. Bertaud previously held the position of principal urban planner at the World Bank. After retiring from the Bank in 1999, he worked as an independent consultant. Prior to joining the World Bank he worked as a resident urban planner in a number of cities around the world: Bangkok, San Salvador (El Salvador), Port au Prince (Haiti), Sana’a (Yemen), New York, Paris, Tlemcen (Algeria), and Chandigarh (India).

Paul E. Carrillo

Associate Professor of Economics and International Affairs, George Washington University

Paul E. Carrillo is an Associate Professor of Economics and International Affairs at George Washington University. His research interests are in applied microeconomics including applications in urban economics and development economics. His research has been published and/or is forthcoming in leading academic such as Review of Economics and Statistics, International Economic Review, Regional Science and Urban Economics, Journal of Development Economics, Real Estate Economics, Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, and Journal of Housing Economics. He currently serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Regional Science. Paul received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Virginia in 2006.

Klaus Desmet

Altshuler Professor of Cities, Regions and Globalization, Southern Methodist University

Klaus Desmet is the Altshuler Professor of Cities, Regions and Globalization at Southern Methodist University and a research fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research. He holds an MSc in business and engineering from the Université catholique de Louvain and a PhD in economics from Stanford University. His research focuses on regional economics, international trade, economic growth and diversity. His work has appeared in journals such as the American Economic Review, the Journal of Economic Theory and the Journal of Development Economics.

Walker Hanlon

Assistant Professor at UCLA

Walker Hanlon is an Assistant Professor at UCLA, a Faculty Research Fellow at the NBER, and a Research Associate at the California Center for Population Research. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2012. He is currently pursuing two main lines of research. The first seeks to better understanding the forces driving innovation and economic growth over the long term using novel historical data sources. Much of his work in this area takes advantage of the economic shock to the British economy causes by the U.S. Civil War. Using this event, he explores how the sudden shortage in cotton caused by the U.S. Civil War on innovation in the British cotton textile industry, and whether the temporary recession in cotton textile cities had a long-term impact on the trajectory of city growth. His second line of research looks at the long-run impact of pollution on urban economies, with a particular focus on industrial pollution linked to coal use in the cities of 19th century Britain. In this line of research, he investigates both the health effects of pollution, as well as the impact of pollution on long-run city growth and population sorting.

Shareen Joshi

Assistant Professor of International Development, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service

Shareen Joshi is Assistant Professor of International Development at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and Non-Residential Research Fellow in Quantitative Research at ICRW. She has a PhD in Economics from Yale University and an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Economics from Reed College in Portland Oregon. Her research focuses on examining the impact of poverty-alleviation policies on the well-being of families. Much of her work has a strong focus on issues of gender and long-term investments in human capital. Recent work has explored the relationship between pollution and child mortality in India, the impact of India’s Janani Suraksha Yojana (Safe Motherhood) program on health-care provision in India, the impact of women’s self-help groups on women’s collective action and the long term consequences of a family planning programs in Bangladesh.

Guy Michaels

Associate Professor, London School of Economics

Guy Michaels is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a research associate at Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) at the LSE. He is also a research affiliate at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), an affiliate at the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD), and an external research associate at the Oxford Centre for the Analysis of Resource Rich Economies (OxCarre). He also serves as a member of the editorial board of the Review of Economic Studies. His research interests include labor economics, economic development, and economic geography. His research focuses on urbanization, labor market inequality and resource-rich economies. He has received a B.Sc. in Mathematics, magna cum laude, from Tel-Aviv University in 2000 and a Ph.D. in Economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2006.

Adam Storeygard

Assistant Professor of Economics, Tufts University

Adam Storeygard joined Tufts after receiving his PhD from Brown University in 2012. His research interests are in development and urban economics, and particularly in urbanization, transportation, and the economic geography of sub-Saharan Africa. Before graduate school he worked at Columbia University developing and analyzing spatial datasets related to health and development. Professor Storeygard’s work has appeared in journals including the American Economic Review, Nature, and the Bulletin of the World Health Organization. His prior degrees are an A.B. in Physics from Harvard University and an M. Phil. in Environment and Development from Cambridge University.

Agenda

08:30-9:00 AM Coffee and Registration

Opening Session

09:00-9:10 AM Welcoming Remarks: Asli Demirgüç-Kunt, Director of Research, Development Economics, World Bank, and Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez, Senior Director, Urban, Rural and Social Development, World Bank

9:10-9:50 AM Keynote Address 1Land-Use Regulation in India and China, Jan Brueckner, Professor of Economics, UC-Irvine

9:50-10:30 AM Keynote Address 2LDC Urban Climate Change Adaptation: Challenges and Opportunities, Matthew Kahn, Professor of Economics, UCLA

10:30-10:40 AM Closing Remarks: Kaushik Basu, Senior Vice President & Chief Economist, World Bank

10:40-10:55 AM Coffee Break

Session One

Chair: Stephen Hammer, Manager, Climate Change Group, World Bank

DiscussantAntonio Bento (University of Southern California)

10:55-11:20 AM Managing Sustainable Urban Expansion: From Global Monitoring to Stakes in the Ground: Shlomo Angel (NYU Urbanization Project)

11:20-11:45 AM The Long-Term Economic Effect of High Temperatures: Evidence from Earnings Data in Ecuador: Paul Carrillo (GWU), joint with Ram Fishman (GWU) and Jason Russ (GWU)

11:45-12:10 PM Has India Improved Energy Efficiency?: Ejaz Ghani (World Bank), joint with Arti Grover (World Bank) and William Kerr (Harvard)

12:10-12:35 PM The Geography of Development: Evaluating Migration Restrictions and Coastal Flooding: Klaus Desmet (SMU), joint with David Krisztian Nagy (Princeton) and Esteban Rossi-Hansberg (Princeton)

12:35-12:50 PM Discussant and Q&A

12:50-1:30 PM Lunch

Session Two

Chair: Sameh Wahba, Practice Manager, Urban, Rural and Social Development (World Bank)

Discussant: Gilles Duranton (Wharton Business School)

1:30-1:55 PM Urbanization and Economic Development: Paul Romer (NYU Urbanization Project)

1:55-2:20 PM The Heterogeneous Effects of Transportation Infrastructure: Evidence from Sub-Sahara Africa: Adam Storeygard (Tufts), joint with Remi Jedwab (GWU)

2:20-2:45 PM Urban Spatial Structures and Urban Sustainability: Alain Bertaud (NYU Urbanization Project)

2:45-3:00 PM Discussant and Q&A

3:00-3:15 PM Coffee Break

Session Three

Chair: Michael Toman, Manager, Environment and Energy Team, Development Research Group, World Bank

DiscussantSomik Lall, Lead Urban Economist, Urban, Rural and Social Development, World Bank

3:15-3:40 PM Negative Externalities of Industrialization: Evidence on Pollution and Child Health in India: Shareen Joshi (Georgetown), joint with Toan Do (World Bank) and Samuel Stolper (Harvard University)

3:40-4:05 PM Endogenous City Disamenities: Lessons from Industrial Pollution in 19th Century Britain: Walker Hanlon (UCLA), joint with Yuan Tian (UCLA)

4:05-4:30 PM Flooded Cities: Guy Michaels (LSE), joint with Adriana Kocornik-Mina (LSE), Tom McDermott (LSE) and Ferdinand Rauch (Oxford)

4:30-4:45 PM Discussant and Q&A

4:45-5:00 PM Coffee Break

Closing Plenary and Cocktail Reception

5:00-6:00 PM Sustainable Urbanization, Round Table: Marianne Fay (World Bank), Gilles Duranton (Wharton), Danny Leipziger (Growth Dialogue), Michael Cohen (Milano School of International Affairs)

6:30-8:00 PM Cocktail reception and welcome speech by Institute for International Economic Policy Director, Stephen Smith, and Shahid Yusuf of the Growth Dialogue At the George Washington University, Lindner Commons Room (6th Floor) of the Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E St. N.W. (at the intersection of E and 19th Streets, on E Street), Washington, DC

TPP & the Internet: A Multistakeholder Perspective

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) includes many provisions with significant effects on the Internet and in particular on cross-border information flows. As in many trade agreements, the provisions of TPP are complex and difficult to understand. The Institute for International Economic Policy — in concert with the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) and the Internet Policy Forum of the Internet Society – DC Chapter — is hosting a breakfast discussion of the cross-border data flow provisions, focusing in particular on their impact on the free flow of information between the 12 nations that today comprise some 25% of global Internet users. IIEP is excited to host Fanny Hidvégi, International Privacy Fellow at EPIC, Mark MacCarthy, Vice President of Government Affairs at the Software and Information Industry Association, Peter Maybarduk, director of access to medicine and information at Public Citizen, Sanford Reback, Director of Global Public Policy at Akamai, and Susan Aaronson, IIEP affiliate and International Affairs professor at the George Washington University, will discuss the impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership on Internet governance. Tracey D. Samuelson of APR Marketplace will moderate.

Speakers

 

Susan Aaronson

IIEP Affiliate and International Affairs Professor, GWU

Susan Ariel Aaronson is Research Professor at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs and the former Minerva Chair at the National War College. She teaches courses in international trade issues; digital trade; and corruption, development and good governance. She directs a fellowship fund for students working on internet issues, the eBay Policy Scholars, and has organized several seminars on Internet issues and human rights metrics. While at GWU, Aaronson has received grants from the MacArthur, Ford, Swiss National Science Foundation and Ford Motor Company for her work on internet freedom and trade, corruption, and business and human rights. Her current research focuses on malware, trade and trust; the WTO and conflict; and repression, civil conflict and socio-economic outcomes.

Fanny Hidvégi

International Privacy Fellow, EPIC

Fanny Hidvégi is an International Privacy Fellow at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). She graduated from law school (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest) in 2010. During university studies she spent one academic year at the University of Florence on an Erasmus Scholarship. After graduation she worked at the Consumer Protection Section of the Hungarian Competition Authority and, later, in a law firm specialized in the field of unfair commercial practices. From 2012 until 2015, she worked as the Head of the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Program of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, where her responsibilities varied from strategic litigation through drafting policy papers until representing the HCLU in the media. One of the most important privacy projects she has been involved with is the fight against the national data retention law in Hungary.

 

Mark MacCarthy

Senior Vice President, Public Policy, SIIA

Mark MacCarthy directs SIIA’s public policy initiatives in the areas of intellectual property enforcement, information privacy, cybersecurity, cloud computing and the promotion of educational technology. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University, where he teaches courses in information privacy and tech policy in the Communication, Culture, and Technology Program, and courses in political philosophy in their Philosophy Department. His previous public policy experience includes senior positions with Visa, Inc., the Wexler Walker Group and Capital Cities/ABC and the Energy and Commerce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. He holds a Ph.D in philosophy from Indiana University and an MA in economics from the University of Notre Dame.

 

Peter Maybarduk

Public Citizen

Peter Maybarduk directs Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines and knowledge economy group, which helps partners around the world overcome high-price pharmaceutical monopolies and secure the benefits of science, technology and culture for all. Maybarduk is an intellectual property expert and presently a visiting fellow with the Information Society Program at Yale Law School. Maybarduk’s work has yielded HIV/AIDS medicine price reductions, new state access to medicines policies and global shifts toward anti-counterfeiting policies that safeguard generic competition. His analysis and advocacy have been instrumental in developing widespread opposition to harmful measures in the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership. Maybarduk’s work for public health and an open knowledge economy has been covered in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Times of India, The Washington Post, The Guardian and other major papers. Read Public Citizen’s recent profile of Maybarduk and his work.

 

Sanford C. Reback

Director, Global Public Policy, Akamai

Sanford Reback, Director of Global Public Policy at Akamai Technologies, has more than 25 years of policy, business, and legal experience in the technology sector. He served as Deputy General Counsel for Policy at UUNET Technologies, then the world’s largest Internet service provider (ISP); Senior International Counsel at MCI, then a Fortune 100 company; and a senior executive at two venture-backed technology companies. In the Executive Office of the President at the U.S. Trade Representative, Reback helped negotiate NAFTA, the World Trade Organization agreements, and several international technology agreements. Immediately prior to joining Akamai, he was Senior Technology Analyst and Director of Global Business at Bloomberg Government. Reback holds a B.A. in political science from Stanford University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, an M.P.A. from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and was a Fulbright Fellow in London.

 

Tracey D. Samuelson

Reporter, Marketplace Radio

Tracey D. Samuelson is a staff reporter for APM Marketplace focusing on business, finance, and technology. Samuelson’s stories have aired on NPR’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Planet Money, and APM’s Marketplace, and in print for the Christian Science Monitor, New York Magazine, Global Post and other publications.

8th Annual Conference on U.S.-China Economic Relations and China’s Economic Development

Click here to watch videos

The U.S.-China relationship is now second to none in importance for international economic relations and policy and accordingly is a major focus of IIEP. The centerpiece of this initiative is our annual Conference on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic and Political Relations

This year, key topics discussed include China’s financial market, the state of China’s macro-economy, the China-Africa relationship, and China’s outward investments and their impacts. For more information about the conference and bios of each panelist, visit our blog

An archive of all previous Annual Conferences on U.S.-China Economic Relations and China’s Economic Development is available here. For more information, please contact Kyle Renner at iiep@gwu.edu or 202-994-5320.

David Dollar

Keynote speaker: David Dollar

Senior Fellow on Foreign Policy and Global Economy and Development, the Brookings Institution

David Dollar is a leading expert on China’s economy and U.S.-China economic relations. From 2009 to 2013 he was the U.S. Treasury’s economic and financial emissary to China.

Dollar worked at the World Bank for 20 years, and from 2004 to 2009, was country director for China and Mongolia. His other World Bank assignments primarily focused on Asian economies, including South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and India. From 1995 to 2004, Dollar worked in the World Bank’s research department.

Schedule of Events

October 6, 2017

8:50 – 9:00AM Welcome and Overview of the Conference

  • Stephen Smith, Director, Institute for International Economic Policy

9:00 – 10:30AM Session 1: The China-Africa Relationship

10:30 – 11:00AM Coffee Break

11:00 – 12:30PM Session 2: China’s Outward Investments and Their Impact

12:30 – 2:00PM Lunch and Keynote

  • David Dollar, Senior Fellow, Thornton China Center, Brookings Institution, “China’s Economic Slowdown and Spillover to the Rest of the World”

2:00 – 2:20PM Coffee Break

2:20 – 3:50PM Session 3: China’s Financial Market

  • Jennifer Carpenter, NYU Stern, “The Real Value of China’s Stock Market”
  • Jennie Bai, Georgetown University, “The Great Wall of Debt: Corruption, Real Estate, and Chinese Local Government Credit Spreads”
  • Dennis Tao Yang, UVA, “Booms and Busts in China’s Stock Market”

4:00 – 5:30PM Session 4: State of China’s Macro-economy

An archive of all previous Annual Conferences on China’s Economic Development and U.S.-China Economic Relations is available here.

For more information, please contact Kyle Renner at iiep@gwu.edu or 202-994-5320.

Co-sponsored by:

IMF Africa Regional Economic Outlook Discussion

Monday, November 9, 2015

8:45am to 12:30pm

 

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

Africa continues to experience great opportunities for growth while also facing several great challenges. Sustained economic growth, income inequality, gender disparities, and competitiveness in the global trade arena are all issues with the potential to make or break the continent’s development as a region. The African Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) publishes the Regional Economic Outlook (REO): Sub-Saharan Africa report twice a year. The Africa REO reviews economic developments and trends in the region.

This event will feature presentations of the three REO chapters and a discussion by external experts and IIEP faculty of the topical areas covered in the reports. The full report is available on the IMF website.

 

  • Opening Remarks

    • Stephen Smith, Director, Institute for International Economic Policy, GWU

    Session I: Dealing with the Gathering Clouds

    • Celine Allard, Lead Author of the Africa Regional Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund
    • Fred Joutz, Professor of Economics, GWU
    • Augustin Fosu, Professor, Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, University of Ghana

    Session II: Competitiveness in Sub-Saharan Africa: Marking Time or Moving Ahead

    • Bhaswar Mukhopadhyay, Deputy Division Chief, African Department, International Monetary Fund
    • Fariha Kamal, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Bureau of the Census
    • Danny Leipziger, Professor of Practice of International Business, GWU; Managing Director, Growth Dialogue

    Session III: Inequality and Economic Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa

    • Dalia Hakura, Deputy Division Chief, African Department, International Monetary Fund
    • James Foster, Professor of Economics and International Affairs, GWU
    • Louise Fox, Visiting Professor of Development Practice, University of California-Berkeley

    For more information, please contact Kyle Renner at iiep@gwu.edu or 202-994-5320.

    Co-sponsored by:

Internet Governance Forum USA 2015

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Marvin Center Grand Ballroom
800 21st Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

The IGF-USA 2015 was a full-day conference that brought together thought leaders from across the Internet multi-stakeholder community to highlight and engage in discussions about key issues that will drive the future of the Internet.

Topics

  • Encryption, Backdoors, Security and Privacy
  • The Politics of Innovation: Can the Internet Spur Too Much Disruption?
  • Truth and Trolls: Dealing with Toxic Speech while Protecting Free Speech Online
  • The state of digital rights and Free Expression Online
  • Critical Internet Resources: An update on progress and challenges remaining for the transition of IANA stewardship and enhancing ICANN accountability.
  • Enhancing Multistakeholder Cooperation
  • Internet of Things
  • The Digital Trade Imbalance: There is an imbalance in trade strategies between the US and many of its trade partners
  • Connecting the Next Billion

Confirmed keynotes

  • Catherine A. Novelli – Under Secretary of State & Senior Coordinator for International Information Technology Diplomacy
  • Ambassador Daniel A. Sepulveda – Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy
  • Lawrence E. Strickling – Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce
  • Vint Cerf – Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google
  • Steve Crocker – Chairman of the Board of Directors, ICANN
  • Kathryn Brown – President and CEO, The Internet Society

For more information, please contact Kyle Renner at iiep@gwu.edu or 202-994-5320.

Co-Sponsored by:

ARIN
ICANN
Public Interest Registry
Microsoft
NetChoice
Software and Information Industry Association

Disney
The Internet Society
Verisign
Internet Infrastructure Coalition
Verizon
Wiley Rein

Videos from the Forum

Welcome Remarks

 

Keynote by Larry Strickling

Keynote Conversation with Vinton Cerf and Steve Crocker, moderated by Nancy Scola

Breakout Session – Critical Internet Resources: An update on progress and challenges remaining for the transition of IANA stewardship and enhancing ICANN accountability

Keynote remarks by Julie Zoller – Deputy Coordinator, International Communications and Information Policy, U.S. Department of State

Keynote remarks by Kathryn Brown – President and CEO, The Internet Society

Breakout Session – Maintaining Trust Online: Cybersecurity, Encryption, Backdoors, and Privacy

Keynote Session – “Connecting the World”

Plenary – Connecting the Next Billion

Closing Plenary – Breakout Summaries

Working for All? New Ideas and Innovative Strategies to Enhance Economic and Social Benefits in Trade Agreements

Thursday, May 14, 2015

9:00am to 5:00pm

 

Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

How Can TTIP benefit workers and promote employment? Read Professor Susan Aaronson’s latest paper.

The US, Canada, and Mexico agreed to the first labor rights provisions in NAFTA, which went into force in 1993. Some 22 years later, the bulk of the world’s economies, from Albania to Zimbabwe, participate in a trade arrangement with labor rights provisions, whether through a free trade agreement, a preferential trade arrangement, or in an investment agreement. Since 2008, 41 out of 93 new trade agreements included labor provisions and over 60 per cent of the trade agreements concluded in 2013 and 2014 included labor provisions.

But there is a lot that we do not know about these agreements. Scholars, policymakers, labor rights activists, and the business community do not know if these provisions are effective in improving working conditions. Moreover, in instances where they have been effective it is unclear why and what has been the role of the different stakeholders?

How can trade agreements promote employment, enhance the link between economic and social benefits and achieve sustainable development? How can the interconnectedness between economic, social and environmental objectives be protected and promoted? Which complementary policies are key to inclusive growth and help in capitalizing opportunities from trade openness?

For more information, please contact Kyle Renner at iiep@gwu.edu or 202-994-5320.

 

Co-Sponsored by:

View the Schedule

Conference Agenda

8:30 – 9:00 – Registration and Breakfast

9:00 – 9:30 – Welcome and Opening Remarks

  • Dr. Jay Shambagh (Director Institute for International Economic Policy)
  • Nancy Donaldson (ILO Washington DC)
  • Carol Pier (Deputy Undersecretary, International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor)

9:30 – 11:00 – Session I: Decent work for all? How to bridge the gap between the social and economic dimensions of trade agreements?

  • Moderator: Marva Corley (ILO)
  • Rudi Delarue (European Commission)
  • Lance Compa (ILR, Cornell University)

11:00 – 11:15 – Coffee Break

11:15 – 12:45 – Session II: Roundtable: To ensure that trade agreements work for all, can we achieve coherence within and among trade agreements?

  • Moderator: Anil Verma (University of Toronto)
  • Pierre Bouchard (Bilateral and Regional Labor Affairs, Canada)
  • Silvia Formentini (Trade and Sustainable Development, EC)
  • Kevin Kolben (Rutgers University)
  • Pablo Lazo Grandi (Permanent Mission of Chile to UN in Geneva)

12:45 – 2:00 – Lunch

2:00 – 3:30 – Session III: What evidence do we have that trade agreements are working for all? How do we measure the effectiveness of labor provisions in FTAs?

  • Moderator: Jan Van Hove (University of Leuven)
  • Raymond Robertson (Macalester College)
  • Bill Gibson (University of Vermont)
  • Werner Raza (Austrian Foundation of Development Research)

3:30 – 3:45 – Coffee Break

3:45 – 5:15 – Session IV: Roundtable: What innovative ideas with regard to the promotion of labour rights and improvement of working conditions can be explored to ensure that trade agreements do work for all?

  • Moderator: Susan Aaronson (Elliott School of International Affairs, GWU)
  • Ms. Xiaoyan Qian (Chinese Embassy, Washington DC)
  • Tonia Novitz (University of Bristol)
  • Thomas Zielke (RGIT)
  • Ariel Meyerstein (USCIB)
  • Celeste Drake (AFL-CIO)

5:15 – 5:30 – Closing Remarks

IMF Africa Regional Economic Outlook Discussion

Thursday, May 7, 2015

8:45am to 12:30pm

Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

8:45 – 9:00 – Opening remarks

  • Jay Shambaugh (GWU), Céline Allard (IMF)

9:00 – 10:00 – Session I: Overview of Recent Economic Developments in Africa

10:00 – 10:15 – Coffee Break

10:15 – 11:15 – Session II: How Can Sub-Saharan Africa Harness the Demographic Dividend?

11:15 – 11:30 – Coffee Break

11:30 – 12:30 – Session III: Sub-Saharan’s Trade Integration in the Global Economy: Progress and Ways Forward

12:30 – Conclude

For more information, please contact Kyle Renner at iiep@gwu.edu or 202-994-5320.

Cosponsored by:

5th Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) Conference

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Family Commons, 6th Floor
1957 E St. NW
Washington D.C. 20052

The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions.

View the Schedule
8:00 AM: Continental Breakfast and Opening Comments
8:15 AM: Paulo Bastos (WB)
Session 1: “Overcoming the Tyranny of History: Evidence from Post-Apartheid South Africa”
Discussant: Remi Jedwab (GW)
9:00 AM: Anna Maria Mayda (GT)
Session 2: “The Impact of Skilled Foreign Workers on Firms: an Investigation of Publicly Traded U.S. Firms”
Discussant: Mine Senses (JHU)
9:45 AM: Coffee Break
10:00 AM: Ryan Monarch (FRB)
Session 3: “Learning and the Value of Relationships in International Trade”
Discussant: Olga Timoshenko (GWU)
10:45 AM: Christian Volpe (IDB)
Session 4: “The Border Labyrinth: Information Technologies and Trade in the Presence of Multiple Agencies”
Discussant: Justin Peirce (FRB)
11:30 AM: Lunch
12:30 PM: Maggie Chen (GWU)
Session 5: “Learning and Reputation in Trade”
Discussant: Serge Shikher (USITC)
1:15 PM: Heiwai Tang (JHU)
Session 6: “Trade-induced Quality Upgrading: Transaction-level Evidence from Portugal”
Discussant: Andrew McCallum (FRB)
2:00 PM: Overflow and Closing Remarks
2:30 PM: End

George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

3rd Annual Conference Washington Area Development Economics Symposium (WADES)

Friday, April 24, 2015

This event is hosted by the Georgetown University Initiative on Innovation, Development and Evaluation (gui2de)

Rafik B. Hariri Building, Rom 240
Georgetown University
3700 O St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20057

 

The Washington Area Development Economics Symposium (WADES) is an annual research conference which highlights academic work from researchers at leading economics institutions in development economics in the Washington DC area. Researchers from George Washington University, University of Maryland, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Virginia, the World Bank, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), American University, George Mason University, and the Center for Global Development are all participants in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions.

View the Schedule

Download the conference schedule here.

George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

Digital Payments/Currencies: Global Threat or Opportunity?

Thursday, April 23, 2015

9:00am to 12:00pm

 

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

The Institute for International Economic Policy and the Bretton Woods Committee will convene a seminar involving policymakers, regulators, and private and financial sector experts to evaluate the changes digital currencies and payment systems have brought to the market and the disruptive potential of a future in which they become more conventional

8:30-9:00 am – Registration and Light Breakfast

9:00-9:10 am – Welcome and Introduction

  • Welcome Remarks: Jay Shambaugh (IIEP, GWU) and Randy S. Rodgers (Bretton Woods)

9:10-10:25 am – Panel 1: What is the Value Proposition (Benefits and Risks?)

  • Edan Yago (CEO, Epiphyte)
  • Eric Piscini (Principal, Deloitte)
  • Ian Greenstreet (Chairman, Infinity Capital Partners)
  • Mark T. Williams (Professor, Boston University)
  • and Jerry Brito (Executive Director, Coin Center)
  • Moderator: Paul Vigna (Wall Street Journal and co-author, The Age of Cryptocurrency)

10:25 – 10:40 am – Coffee Break

10:40-12:00 pm – Panel 2: Rules of the Road – Regulatory Implications

  • Jennifer Shasky-Calvery (Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, U.S. Treasury)
  • John Beccia (General Counsel and CCO, Circle Internet Financial)
  • Jason Weinstein (Partner, Steptoe & Johnson)
  • Carol Van Cleef (Partner, Mannat, Phelps & Phillips)
  • David C. Mills (Assistant Director, Reserve Bank Operations and Payment Systems Division, U.S. Federal Reserve Board)
  • Moderator: Michael Casey (Wall Street Journal and co-author, The Age of Cryptocurrency)

For more information, please contact Kyle Renner at iiep@gwu.edu or 202-994-5320.

Cosponsored by:

Inaugural Conference on India’s Economy

Monday, April 13, 2015

8:15am to 5:00pm

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

The Indian economy is showing signs of revival after several years of slowdown. A new growth oriented government has just presented a budget to boost recovery, inflation is on the decline and India looks poised for faster growth. Yet challenges remain as India must reduce poverty, create jobs for a young and rapidly urbanizing population while increasing its resilience to global headwinds as it continues to open up to the international economy. How can India revive growth with limited fiscal space? What reforms are needed in factor markets: land, labor and finance to ramp up private investment both domestic and foreign? What additional policies and programs are needed to address poverty? How can India become more competitive in global markets, and participate in global and regional trade partnerships? How can the promise of U.S.-India partnership be taken forward concretely? The Institute for International Economic Policy at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, invites you to a conversation with top academic researchers, officials from the IMF, World bank, OECD, and the UN, and current and former high level policy makers in the U.S. and Indian governments.

9:00-10:30 am – Session One: Economic Outlook and Macro Economic Policies

11:00 am-12:30 pm – Session Two: Finance, Urbanization, and Growth

12:30-2:00 pm – Lunch and Keynote Speaker

  • Arun Kumar, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service “India-U.S. Economic Relations: Prospects and Promise”

2:00-3:30 pm – Session Three: Poverty Eradication and Participation

  • James Foster & Sabina Alkire (GWU, OPHI): Multi Dimensional Poverty Indicators for India
  • Vijayendra Rao (World Bank): The Anatomy of Failure: An Ethnography of A Randomized Trial to Deepen Democracy in Rural India
  • Chair: Stephen Smith (GWU)
  • Discussants: Thangavel Palanivel (UNDP) and Yue Li (World Bank)

3:45-5:00 pm – Closing Session

  • Piritta Sorsa (OECD): Stronger and Better Growth in India
  • Discussants: Swami Nathan Aiyar (Economic Times and Cato Institute), Rakesh Mohan (IMF, RBI), and Ajay Chhibber (IIEP, India) on challenges facing India today

For more information, please contact Kyle Renner at iiep@gwu.edu or 202-994-5320.

Cosponsored by:


View the videos from the sessions here

12:30-2:00 pm – Lunch and Keynote Speake

 

2:00-3:30 pm – Session Three: Poverty Eradication and Participation

 

 

2nd Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Research Conference

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

8:30am to 8:00pm

 

World Bank Headquarters, Washington, D.C

This conference hosted by the World Bank, George Washington University (Institute for International Economic Policy), and the Growth Dialogue brings together academics and development practitioners to present and discuss the challenges of urbanization in developing countries.

For more information about this conference, click here.

USAID BASIS AMA CRSP/I4 Index Insurance Innovation Initiative 2014 Technical Committee Meeting

Cosponsored with University of California – Davis

Thursday and Friday, November 6-7, 2014

12:00 to 5:15pm

 

George Washington University, Washington DC

This event was a gathering of researchers and stakeholders involved with the Index Insurance Innovation Initiative (I4) at UC Davis. Presentations at this event came in three primary types:

  1. New Project Presentations
  2. Project Updates
  3. Research Paper Presentations.

These different presentations reflect the different stages these projects are at in implementation, and are meant to keep stakeholders apprised of current project status and recent developments, as appropriate.

Presentations:

Internet Governance Forum USA 2014

Cosponsored by ISOC-DC

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

8:30am to 7:00pm – Reception to Follow

Marvin Center, 800 21st Street NW
Grand Ballroom, 3rd Floor
Washington, DC 20052

The IGF-USA provides a domestic forum in the US for civil society, government, technologists, research scientists, the media, industry and academia, and other interested communities to engage in dialogue about development of best practices for multistakeholder governance and help move Internet policy forward.

IGF-USA 2014 seeks to help establish creative partnerships and to build a US based coalition to generate momentum around priority Internet governance issues and practices under consideration.

4th Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) Conference

Thursday, April 25, 2014

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Family Commons, 6th Floor
1957 E St. NW
Washington D.C. 20052

The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions.

View the Schedule

Download the conference schedule here.

 

8:30 – 8:55: Continental breakfast
8:55 – 9:00: Opening Comments — Michael Moore, GWU
9:00 – 9:45: Christian Volpe (IDB)
Session 1: “Customs: What are the Effects on International Trade”(Paper)
Discussant: Nick Zolas (Census)
9:45 – 10:30: Serge Shikher (USITC)
Session 2: “Comparative Advantages of Rich and Poor Countries”(Paper)
Discussant: Kara Reynolds (American)
10:30 – 10:45: Coffee break
10:45 – 11:30: Maggie Chen (GWU)
Session 3: “Foreign Rivals are Coming to Town: Responding to the Threat of Foreign Multinational Entry” (Paper)
Discussant: Bill Lincoln (JHU-SAIS)
11:30 – 12:15: Dan Bernhofen (American)
Session 4: “Estimating the Effects of the Container Revolution on World Trade” (Paper)
Discussant: Gisela Rua (Federal Reserve Board)
12:15 – 1:30: Lunch
1:30 – 2:15: Russell Hillberry (World Bank)
Session 5: “Import Dynamics and Demands for Protection” (Paper)
Discussant: Lindsay Oldenski (Georgetown)
2:15 – 3:00: Andrew McCallum (Federal Reserve Board)
Session 6: “The Structure of Export Entry Costs”
Discussant: Wenjie Chen (GWU)
3:00 – 3:15: Coffee break
3:15 – 4:00: Fariha Kamal (U.S. Census Bureau)
Session 7: “Buyer-Seller Relationships in International Trade: Do your Neighbors Matter?” (Paper)
Discussant: Olga Timoshenko (GWU)
4:00: Closing Comments — Christopher Kurz, Federal Reserve Board

George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

“Known-Knowns and Unknowns about the Internet: Measuring the Economic, Social, and Governance Impact of the Web”

Download the conference schedule here

Thursday and Friday, November 14 – 15, 2013

 9:30am to 6:00pm (Thursday), 9:30am to 4:00pm (Friday)

 

The Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St. NW
Washington, DC 20052

Policymakers and netizens alike make broad claims about the effects of the internet upon economic growth, business, democracy, governance, and human rights. In recent years, economists have made significant progress in estimating the impact of the internet on areas such as economic growth, trade, fiscal policy, and education. But the progress made by economists has not been matched by scholars, activists, executives, and policymakers who seek to understand the internet’s effects on governance, cyber security, and on human rights. We don’t know if the Internet has stimulated development or whether the internet has led to measurable governance improvements. Moreover, scholars and activists don’t yet know how to effectively measure Internet openness. We will also weigh the evidence that the Internet is splintering. With this conference, we hope to encourage greater understanding of metrics to assess our new digital age.

3rd Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) Conference

Friday, April 12, 2013

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Family Commons, 6th Floor
1957 E St. NW
Washington D.C. 20052

The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions.

View the Schedule

Download the conference schedule here.

George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

“Can Trade Policies and Agreements Advance Internet Freedom?”

Hosuk Lee-Makiyama (Director, ECIPE); Susan Aaronson (George Washington University); and others

 

Co-sponsors:
Institute for International Economic Policy, National War College, MacArthur Foundation, Computer and Communications Industry Association, Heinrich Boell Stiftung, GW-Center for International Business Education and Research and the Software and Information Industry Association

For more information, please visit the blog of the Project on Trade Agreements and Internet governance at tradeandinternet.wordpress.com

Thursday, December 6, 2012

8:15am – 3:30pm

 

Elliott School of International Affairs
Lindner Commons, 6th floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

TAIG hosted this free conference, providing a wide range of insight into the potential and pitfalls of trade policy to regulate the Internet. Panels included: views from the US, EU, and Canada; a discussion of privacy, intellectual property rights, and Internet freedom; and new ideas to promote trade and Internet freedom. Lee Hibbard from the Council of Europe offered “A Human Rights Perspective”, and Andrew McLaughlin of betaworks gave the luncheon keynote address on “The Future of Internet Freedom”. The full agenda is here. The conference benefited from the support of the John and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the Computer and Communications Industry Association, the Software and Information Industry Association, the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) at GWU, the National War College and the Minvera Initiative.

Our policy brief, “Can Trade Policy Set Information Free? Trade Agreements, Internet Governance, and Internet Freedom” is here.

Click here to view Dr. Aaronson’s slides (requires Flash)

 

2nd Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) Conference

Friday, April 6, 2012

Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St. NW
Washington D.C. 20052

The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions.

View the Schedule

    • Session 2: 9:20-10:10
    • Mine Senses “Globalization, Labor Markets and the Role of Human Capital” Johns Hopkins University-SAIS (with Pravin Krishna and Guru Sethupathy)Presentation

      Teresa Fort as discussant – Comments


    • Coffee Break 

    • Session 3: 10:30-11:20
    • Anna Maria Mayda “Protection for Free? The Political Economy of U.S. Tariff Suspensions” Georgetown University (with Rod Ludema and Prachi Mishra)Presentation

      Michael Moore as discussant – Comments



    • Lunch



    • Coffee Break 

    • Session 7: 3:20-4:10
    • Chris Kurz “Trade and Volatility at the Firm and Plant Level” Federal Reserve Board (with Mine Senses)Presentation

      Logan Lewis as discussant – Comments


George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

International Symposium on “The Economics of Ultra-poverty: Causes and Remedies

Visit the ultra-poverty initiative page here.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

9:00am to 5:00pm – Reception to Follow

 

Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052
Schedule

Day 1: Thursday March 22

Ultra-poverty Research Workshop: Finding, Measuring, and Modeling the Ultra-poor

Ultra-Poverty Research in Progress, Morning Session (7th Floor, City View Room)

9:00-9:30 James Foster, GWU, Introduction and Overview

9:30-10:15 Sabina Alkire, Oxford, and Suman Seth, Oxford, Severe Poverty and Sub-national Disparities

10:15-11:00 Oded Stark, Bonn, Relative Poverty: Concept, Measurement, and Social Welfare Repercussions

 

11:00-11:15 – Coffee Break

 

11:15-12:00 Michael Carter, UC Davis, Poverty Traps

 

Lunch 12:00-1:00 (7th Floor, City View Room)

 

Ultra-Poverty Research in Progress, Afternoon Session I (7th Floor, City View Room)

1:00-1:45 David Stifel, Lafayette and IFPRI Addis, Poverty Mapping Techniques to Track Poverty over Time

1:45-2:30 Nora Lustig, Tulane, Fiscal Redistribution and Fiscal Mobility: A New Concept to Assess the Impact of Benefits and Taxes on the Poor

 

Coffee Break 2:30-2:45

2:45-3:30 Jose Manuel Roche, Oxford, and Mauricio Apablaza, Oxford, Multidimensional Poverty Dynamics

 

Coffee Break 3:30-3:45 (7th Floor Lobby)

 

Ultra-Poverty Research in Progress, Afternoon Session II (7th Floor, State Room)

3:45-4:30 Andy McKay, Sussex, Extreme, Multidimensional, and Chronic Poverty

4:30-5:15 Patrick Vinck, Harvard, Data on Violence, Conflict and Ultra-Poverty

 

Day 2 Friday March 23

Policy and Program Conference: Ultra-poverty Causes and Remedies

Four Aspects of Ultra-poverty 9:00-11:15 (7th Floor, City View Room)

Stephen Smith, GWU, Overview

James Foster, GWU, Depth and Severity

Sabina Alkire, Oxford, Multiple Deprivations

Andy McKay, Sussex, Multiple Periods

Pete Lanjouw, World Bank, Spatial Concentration

General Discussion

 

Coffee Break 11:15-11:30

 

Ultra-poverty: Evidence, Programs and Policy (7th Floor, City View Room)

Session 11:30-12:45 Donor and Civil Society Perspectives

Luis Felipe Lopez-Calva, World Bank, Overview

Steven Radelet, Chief Economist, USAID, A Perspective from USAID

Munshi Sulaiman, BRAC, BRAC’s Ultra-poverty Work in Bangladesh and Africa

 

Lunch 12:45-1:15 (7th Floor, City View Room)

 

Evidence, Programs and Policy, continued (7th Floor, City View Room)

1:15-1:45 Ethiopia: Ultra-Poverty Problems and Opportunities

David Stifel, Lafayette and IFPRI-Addis, Infrastructure, Agricultural Productivity, and Poverty

Stephen Smith, GWU, Multidimensional Poverty Traps? Evidence from Ethiopia

1:45-2:15 Bangladesh: Multidimensional Poverty, Targeting, Programs, and Evaluation

Virginia Robano, GWU, Targeting and Assessment with Multidimensional Poverty

Islam Tonmoy, Kentucky, Program Evaluation with Multidimensional Measures

2:15-3:00 Chile and Peru: Poverty in a Middle Income, High Inequality Environment

Veronica Silva, World Bank, Chile

Renos Vakis, World Bank, “The right medicine: TB, agency and productive safety nets – early lessons from the slums of Lima”

Mauricio Apablaza, Oxford, Chronic Multidimensional Poverty in Chile

 

Coffee Break 3:00-3:15 (6th Floor, Lindner Commons)

 

Missing Dimensions, Hidden Poverty 3:15-5:30 (6th Floor, Lindner Commons)

Sabina Alkire, Oxford, Overview

Oded Stark, Bonn, Degrading Work

Hans Hoogeveen, World Bank, Disabilities

Elizabeth Kneebone, Brookings, Neighborhood effects

 

5-minute pause while refreshments and snacks are served on-site

 

Tony Castleman, GWU, Human Recognition

Jeni Klugman, World Bank, Women and Empowerment

James Foster, GWU, and Sabina Alkire, Oxford, Constructing the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index

5:30-6:00 – Wrap up (6th Floor, Lindner Commons)

11th OxMetrics User Conference: Conference Programme

International Conference on “The Economics of Ultra-Poverty: Causes and Remedies”

March 15 & 16, 2012

 

The Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St. NW
Washington, DC 20052
Schedule

Conference Schedule

Day 1: Thursday March 15

8:30-9:00am Registration and coffee/tea/pastries   9:00-10:30am Session 1: Finance Models and Jumps Chairperson: Vincenzo L. Maini Welcome: Barry R. Chiswick (Chair, Department of Economics, GWU) Announcements: Neil R. Ericsson and Frederick L. Joutz (co-chairs) Sebastien Laurent* (Maastricht University), Christelle Lecourt and Franz C. Palm present “Testing for jumps in GARCH models, a robust approach” Eric Jondeau, Jerome Lahaye* (University of Lausanne) and Michael Rockinger present “High-Frequency Jump Filtering in a Microstructure Model” Vincenzo L. Maini* (Cass Business School) and Giovanni Urga* (Cass Business School) present “The Liquidity to Price Trasmission Mechanism: A Combination of Nonparametric Tests for Jumps”   10:30-11:00am Coffee/Tea Break   11:00-12:00pm Session 2: Gets Modelling I Chairperson: Neil R. Ericsson Jurgen A. Doornik* (University of Oxford) and David F. Hendry present “Automatic Selection of Multivariate Dynamic Econometric Models” Neil R. Ericsson* (Federal Reserve Board and George Washington University) presents “Justifying Empirical Macro-econometric Evidence in Practice”   12:00-1:30pm Lunch and Poster Session (posters listed below) Nicoletta Batini* (International Monetary Fund) and Joshua Felman present “Why Are U.S. Firms Hoarding Money? Deniz Erdemlioglu* (CeReFiM-FundP and K.U. Leuven) presents “Intraday Periodicity and Intraday Levy-type Jump Detection” Marwan Izzeldin and Peiran Shi* (Lancaster University) present “The Impact of Jumps on the Stylised Facts of Returns and Volatility: Do Jumps Matter?” Christian Muller and Eva Koberl (presented by Boriss Silverstovs*, KOF Swiss Economic Institute) present “Catching a Floating Treasure: A Genuine ex-ante Forecasting Experiment in Real Time” Anjan Panday* (American University) presents “Impact of Monetary Policy on Exchange Market Pressure: The Case of Nepal” Issouf Samake* (International Monetary Fund) and Frederick L. Joutz present “Fiscal and Political Instability and the Growth Nexus in Developing Countries: An Application to Nigeria” George B. Tawadros* (RMIT University) presents “The Cyclicality of the Demand for Crude Oil: Evidence from the OECD” Shuangyuan Wei* (George Washington University) presents “An Analysis of U.S. Gasoline Demand Elasticities”   1:30-3:00pm Session 3: Interest Rates and Term Structure Chairperson: Jaime Marquez Daniel Beltran* (Federal Reserve Board), Maxwell Kretchmer, Jaime Marquez and Charles Thomas present “Foreign Holdings of U.S. Treasuries and U.S. Treasury Yields” Wachindra Bandara* (George Washington University) and Richard Munclinger present“A Feasible Regime-Switching Model of the Term Structure” Jaime Marquez* (Federal Reserve Board), Ari Morse and Bernd Schlusche present“Overnight Interest Rates and Reserve Balances: Econometric Modeling of Exit Strategies”   3:00-3:30pm Coffee/Tea Break   3:30-4:30pm Session 4: Round Table with OxMetrics Developers Chairpersons: Frederick L. Joutz, Jurgen A. Doornik (University of Oxford), Siem Jan Koopman (Tinbergen Institute) and Sebastien Laurent (Maastricht University).   5:00-6:30pm Reception and Conference Dinner at Aroma Restaurant   7:00pm-app. 9:30pm Concert at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall

Day 2: Friday March 16

8:30-9:00am Coffee/tea/pastries   9:00-10:00am Session 5: Volatility Modeling Chairperson: Grayham E. Mizon Dobrislav Dobrev* (Federal Reserve Board) and Pawel Szerszen (Federal Reserve Board) present “The Information Content of High-Frequency Data for Estimating Equity Return Models and Forecasting Risk” Siem Jan Koopman* (VU University Amsterdam and Tinbergen Institute) and Marcel Scharth present “The Analysis of Stochastic Volatility in the Presence of Daily Realised Measures”   10:00-10:30am Coffee/Tea Break   10:30am-12:00pm Session 6: Gets Modelling II Chairperson: Felix Pretis J. James Reade* (University of Birmingham) and Ulrich Volz present “From the General to the Specific: Modelling Inflation in China” Poonpat Leesombatpiboon and Frederick L. Joutz* (George Washington University) present “A Multivariate Cointegration Analysis of the Role of Oil in the Thai Macroeconomy” David F. Hendry and Felix Pretis* (University of Oxford) present “Anthropogenic Influences on Atmospheric CO2”   12:00-1:30pm Lunch and Poster Session (posters listed below) Alexie Ciprian Alupoaiei, Ana Maria Sandica* (Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest) and Monica Dudian present “The Analysis of Exchange Rate Dependence in Central and Eastern Europe Countries” John B. Guerard, Jr.* (McKinley Capital Management, LLC) presents “Mergers, the Leading Economic Indicators, and Stock Prices: Additional Evidence” Fakhri Hasanov* (George Washington University) presents “Forecasting Inflation in Azerbaijan” Navneet Kaur* (Chandragupt Institute of Management Patna) and A. Kanagaraj present “Application of Multi Factor Risk Model for Estimating Value-at- Risk in Indian Stock Market” Tidiane Kinda* (International Monetary Fund) presents “Modelling Inflation in Chad” Tucker S. McElroy* (U.S. Census Bureau) presents “When Are Direct Multi-Step and Iterative Forecasts Identical?” Subramanian S. Sriam* (International Monetary Fund) presents “The Gambia: Demand for Broad Money and Implications for Monetary Policy Conduct” Thomas M. Trimbur* (Federal Reserve Board) and Tucker S. McElroy present “Signal Extraction for Nonstationary Multivariate Time Series with an Illustration for Trend Inflation” 1:30-2:30pm Session 7: Ana Timberlake Memorial Lecture Chairperson: Giovanni Urga Introduction: Giovanni Urga, Frederick L. Joutz and Neil R. Ericsson David F. Hendry and Grayham E. Mizon* (University of Southampton and University of Oxford) present“Expectations and Economic Policy in the Presence of Unanticipated Changes”   2:30-3:00pm Coffee/Tea Break   3:00-4:00pm Session 8: Unobserved Variables Chairperson: Boriss Silverstovs Yueqing Jia* (George Washington University) presents “A New Look at China’s Output Fluctuations: Quarterly GDP Estimation with an Unobserved Components Approach” Boriss Silverstovs* (KOF Swiss Economic Institute) presents “Are GDP Revisions Predictable? Evidence for Switzerland”   4:00-4:30pm Coffee/Tea Break   4:30-5:30pm Session 9: Forecasts and Forecasting Chairperson: Jennifer L. Castle Andrew B. Martinez* (George Washington University) presents “Comparing Government Forecasts of the United States’ Gross Federal Debt” Jennifer L. Castle* (University of Oxford), Michael P. Clements and David F. Hendry present “Forecasting by Factors, by Variables, by Both, or Neither?” Closing Remarks: Teresa Timberlake and others 7:00pm-onwards Conference Farewell Dinner (light buffet)

Getting Rights…Right: How Companies are Implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

In partnership with:
U.S. Institute for Peace
U.N. Global Compact U.S. Network
Ford Motor Company
Heinrich Böll Stiftung North America
GW-CIBER

 

For a policy brief created from the conference outcomes, click here.
Download the full document here.

 

To mark International Human Rights Day 2011, George Washington University, the UN Global Compact US Network, and the US Institute of Peace hosted a 1 day conference on the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. These principles, approved by the UN Human Rights Council in June, are designed to help business monitor its human rights impact. These guidelines clarified both the human rights responsibilities of states and firms and made them clear and actionable. Our speakers, representing business, civil society, the US Government, and academia, focused on practical approaches to implementing the Guiding Principles (the GPs).

Thursday, December 8, 2011

9:00am to 4:30pm

 

Grand Ballroom, 3rd Floor
Marvin Center
800 21st Street, NW
Schedule

Thursday, December 8, 2011
9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Grand Ballroom, 3rd Floor
Marvin Center
800 21st Street, NW

 

9:00-9:10 – Welcoming Remarks

  1. Stephen C. Smith (GWU)
    Dave Berdish (Ford Motor Company)

9:10-9:45 – David Arkless President and CEO, Global Corporate and Government Affairs, Manpower, “Why Firms Should Advance Human Rights: Manpower’s approach”

 

9:45-11:15 – Panel 1 – Addressing the Problems of Slavery and Human Trafficking

Moderator: Pamela Passman, President and CEO, Center for Responsible Enterprise And Trade (CREATe)

  1. Brenda Schultz, Manager, Responsible Business, Carlson Hotels Worldwide
  2. Samir Goswami, Director of Corporate Responsibility, Rule of Law, Lexis Nexis
  3. Jean Baderscheider, Vice President, Global Procurement, Exxon Mobil
  4. Jean Baderscheider – Exxon Mobil
  5. Karen Stauss, Director of Programs, Free the Slaves

11:15-11:30 – Coffee Break

 

11:30-12:00 – General Discussion: What should policymakers do to encourage adoption of the GPs?

led by Susan Aaronson

  1. Procurement set asides?
  2. Education?
  3. Corporate governance rules?

12:00-1:00 – Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, Maria Otero

  1. The Department of State’s Approach to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

1:00-2:00 – Luncheon Keynote

  1. Ursula Wynhoven (General Counsel, UN Global Compact) “The Case for Supporting Human Rights”
  2. Ursula Wynhoven – United Nations
  3. Gerald Pachoud, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary General, UN and former Senior Advisor, Special Representative on Business and Human Rights) “Business and Human Rights… and States”

 

2:05-3:35 – Panel 2 – How Business Should Operate in Conflict Zones

Moderator: Raymond Gilpin, Director, Center for Sustainable Economies, U.S. Institute of Peace

  1. Bennett Freeman, Senior Vice President for Social research and Policy, Calvert Group
  2. Bennett Freeman – GE Audio
  3. Charlotte Wolff, Corporate Responsibility Manager, Arcellor Mittal
  4. Charlotte Wolff – Arcellor Mittal Audio
  5. Olav Ljosne, Regional Director of Communications, Africa, Shell Corporation
  6. Olav Ljosne – Shell Corporation Audio
  7. Jenny Vaughan, Program Officer, Conflict Management, Mercy Corps
  8. Jenny Vaughan – Mercy Corps
  9. Jenny Vaughan – Mercy Corps Audio
  10. Panel 2 – Entire Audio
  11. Panel 2 – Discussion Audio

3:35-3:50 – Coffee Break

 

3:50-5:20 – Panel 3: General Implementation of the Guiding Principles: Is it difficult to get buy in? Is it costly? What recommendations or roadblocks have you found?

Moderator: Susan Aaronson (GWU)

  1. Mark Nordstrom, Senior Labor & Employment Counsel, General Electric
  2. Mark Nordstrom – Fordham University
  3. Mark Nordstrom – Fordham University Audio
  4. Dave Berdish, Manager of Sustainable Business Development, Ford Motor Company
  5. Dave Berdish – Ford Motors
  6. Dave Berdish – Ford Motor Company Audio
  7. Motoko Aizawa, Sustainability Advisor, International Finance Corporation
  8. Meg Roggensack, Senior Advisor for Business and Human Rights, Human Rights First
  9. Panel 3 – Discussion Audio

5:20 – Conference End

 

Conference organized by:

 

  • Dr. Susan Aaronson and Kyle Renner, GWU
  • Dr. Raymond Gilpin and Amanda Mayoral, USIP
  • Thanks too to Ursula Wynhoven and the staff of the UN Global Compact for their help.

 

 

Ford Motor Company and the Heinrich Böll Foundation provided generous financial support to ensure a free conference.

Food Price Increases: Causes, Impacts and Responses

Keynote Speaker Alain de Janvry (UC Berkeley)

Conference videos to be uploaded soon.

Friday September 30, 2011

Elliott School of International Affairs
Linder Family Commons Suite 602
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

 

8:30-9:00 a.m. – Breakfast

9:00-9:15 a.m. – Opening Remarks
Stephen Smith (GWU-IIEP)
 – Forum on Food Price Increases

9:15-10:45 p.m. – Panel 1 – Causes: Long and Short Term Forces Underlying Food Price Spikes and Trends

Speakers:
9:15-9:45 – Nora Lustig (Tulane University), “Survey of Long and Short Run Factors” – Thought for Food Revisited: Causes, Consequences and Policy Dilemmas
9:45-10:15 – Keith O. Fuglie (Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture) – “Global and Regional Food Productivity and Output Trends” – Productivity Growth

10:15-10:45 a.m. – Panel 1 Discussion

10:45-11:15 a.m. – Coffee Break

11:15 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. – Panel 2 – Impacts: Poverty, Nutrition and Welfare Impacts of Food Price Increases

Speakers:
11:15 a.m. – 11:45 p.m. – Francisco Ferreira (World Bank) – “Rising Food Prices and Household Welfare: Evidence from Brazil” – Background Paper
11:45-12:15 p.m. – James Foster (George Washington University) – “Measurement Issues in Assessing Poverty Impacts of Food Price Spikes” – PPT

12:15-12:45 p.m. – Panel 2 Discussion

12:45-2:00 p.m. – Lunch

1:15-2:00 p.m. – Luncheon Keynote: Alain de Janvry (UC Berkeley) – PPT

2:00-4:00 p.m. – Panel 3 – Responses: Policy and Program Responses to Food Price Spikes 

Speakers:
2:00-2:30 p.m. – Carlos B Martins-Filho (IFPRI and University of Colorado, Boulder) – “Excessive Food Price Volatility Early Warning System” – PPT and “Maize Excessive Food Price Variability Early Warning System” and “Maize Prices and Returns”
2:30-3:00 p.m. – Maximo Torero (IFPRI) – “Price Volatility in Food and Agricultural Markets: Policy Responses” – PPT
3:00-3:30 pm. – Uma Lele (Author and Development Consultant) – “Policy Responses to Food Price Spikes” – Challenges Facing the Global Architecture for Food and Agriculture Going Forward

3:30-4:00 p.m. – Panel 3 Discussion

 

Advances in Behavioral Finance

Organized by
The Institute for International Economic Policy
and
The International Monetary Fund Institute

This will be an all day conference

Keynote speaker: Prof. George Akerlof (UC-Berkeley and IMF)

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Elliott School of International Affairs
City View Room 7th Floor
1957 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20052

8:15 a.m.-8:45 a.m. Breakfast

8:45 a.m.-9:00 a.m. Opening Remarks IIEP Director Stephen C. Smith and IMF Institute Deputy Director Eric Clifton

9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Session 1
Prof. William Goetzmann (Yale University)“The First Stock Market Bubble (and Crash!)”
Prof. Robert Stambaugh (University of Pennsylvania): “The Short of It: Investor Sentiment and Anomalies”

10:30 a.m.-10:50 a.m. Coffee Break

10:50 a.m.-12:20 p.m. Session 2
Prof. Avanidhar Subrahmanyam (UCLA): “Funding Constraints and Market Efficiency”
Prof. Russ Wermers (University of Maryland)“Seasonal Asset Allocation: Evidence from Mutual Fund Flows”

12:20 p.m.-1:30 p.m. Lunch Break

1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m. Session 3
Prof. Robert Bloomfield (Cornell University)“The Synthetic Economy Research Environment (SERE): A Platform for Experiments in Policy and Practice”
Prof. Bill Zame (UCLA): “Ambiguity and Asset Pricing: Learning from the Knowledge of Others” – Paper 1 and Paper 2

3:00 p.m.-3:20 p.m. Coffee Break

3:20 p.m.-4:50 p.m. Session 4
Prof. Valery Polkovnichenko (University of Texas at Dallas): “Probability Weighting Functions Implied in Options Prices”
Prof. Jeffrey Wurgler (NYU)“Dividends as Reference Points: A Behavioral Signaling Model”

4:50 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Coffee Break

5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. Keynote Address and Open Floor Discussion:
Prof. George Akerlof (UC-Berkeley and IMF): “Blind Faith: Misplaced Trust and Economic Crisis”

 

Organizing Commmittee:

Marco Cipriani, International Monetary Fund

Ana Fostel, George Washington University

Jorge Roldos, International Monetary Fund

Anna Scherbina, UC Davis and International Monetary Fund

Stephen C. Smith, George Washington University

Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change in Low-Income Countries

Hosted by the Institute of International Economic Policy

See more about the Institute’s Adaptation to Climate Change initiative here.

In partnership with the World Bank, the UN Development Programme, the Center for International Science and Technology Policy, and the GWU Department of Economics

Wednesday, May 18 – Thursday, May 19, 2011

 

City View Room, 7th Floor 1957 E St NW Washington, DC 20052

Human Rights, Development and Economic Growth – Metrics, New Ways of Thinking, and New Strategies

April 7 12:30-7:00 & April 8 8:00-5:00

 

The George Washington University
Washington, DC 20052

Since the members of the UN negotiated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the world has made great human rights progress. But that progress is not easy to measure. The Universal Declaration has over 30 distinct human rights. Moreover, as Albert Einstein once warned “not everything that counts can be counted.” Policymakers, activists, and scholars do not agree on how to count -e.g. whether they should measure progress (as evidenced by new laws) or outcomes (as in educational outcomes).

But in recent years, three developments have helped increase our understanding of the relationship between human rights and development. First, Nobel prize winning economist Amartya Sen established a scholarly bridge between economics and human rights. He taught us that poverty, hunger, and a lack of education are conditions that restrict freedom and therefore respect for human rights provides a platform for economic growth (Vizard: 2005). Influenced by Sen, the UNDP produced the Human Development Index which focuses on state performance on capabilities. Second, in 2000, officials from 181 nations agreed to collaborate to cut global poverty in half by 2015. They also agreed to set targets and measure their progress towards achieving global human rights and development goals. Thus, the Millennium Development Goals made the question of how to measure progress more visible. Building on these insights, scholars and activists began to develop new metrics. Some designers focused not only on human rights but also on measures of governance and economic growth. For example, the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), published for the first time in the 2010 Report, redefined poverty as not simply the absence of money, but the variety of deprivations with which poor households typically contend. It can be deconstructed by region, ethnicity and other groupings as well as by dimension (living standards, education and health). The Human Opportunity Index (HOI) is a measure of society’s progress in equitably providing opportunities for all children. HOI takes into account how the personal “circumstances” for which a child cannot be held accountable, like location or parental wealth, affect his/her probability of accessing basic services that are necessary to succeed in life, like timely education, vaccination, safe water or electricity. The index was first applied in the World Bank publication “Measuring Inequality of Opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean” in 2009 and has since been used in a number of countries.

This conference, organized by Dr. Susan Aaronson, will examine these new metrics and how scholars, business leaders, and government officials are using them to devise cost-effective approaches to stimulating economic growth while advancing human rights.

Schedule

April 7, 2011

Location: Lindner Family Commons
1959 E St NW Suite 602


12:30-1:00 – Lunch


1:00-1:15 p.m. – Opening Remarks and Overview
Opening Remarks – Stephen Smith (GWU-IIEP)
Overview of conference objectives – Susan Ariel Aaronson (GWU-IIEP)
Presentation


1:15-2:35 p.m. – Panel 1 – Multidimensional Poverty Measurement: Uses for a new understanding of the meaning of poverty and deprivation.

Speakers:
Jeni Klugman (UNDP), “UNDP’s Multidimensional Poverty Metric”
Shabana Singh (Vanderbilt University) – “Towards a Multinational Measure of governance” Presentation
Ricardo Aparicio (Director for Policy Analysis at Coneval, Mexico) – ” Multidimensional poverty measurement: a human rights based approach. The case of Mexico” Presentation
Discussant: Ambar Narayan (World Bank)
Comments


2:35-3:45 p.m. – Panel 2 – Measuring Inequality of Opportunities Among Children: the Human Opportunity Index

Speakers:
Jaime Saavedra-Chanduvi (Acting Director, Poverty Reduction and Equity, World Bank) – “Equality of Opportunity: Analytical Challenges and Policy Implications” Presentation
Javier Escobal (GRADE, Peru) – “Is the Playing Field Leveling in Peru? The Evolution of Children’s Opportunities” Presentation
Discussant: Dena Ringold (Senior Economist, Human Development Sector, Europe and Central Asia, World Bank)
Comments


3:45-4:00 – Coffee Break


4:00-5:30 p.m. – Panel 3 – New Metrics for Assessing Human Rights and How These Metrics Relate to Development and Governance

Speakers:
David Cingranelli (Professor of Political Science, SUNY – Binghamton) – “CIRI Human Rights Data Set” Presentation
Sabine Donner (Senior Project Manager, Bertelsmann Foundation) – “Transformation Index” Presentation
Nathaniel Heller (Managing Director, Global Integrity Index)
Moderator: Siobhan McInerny-Lankford (Senior Policy Officer, Nordic Trust Fund, OPCS, World Bank)
Comments


5:50-6:00p.m. – Coffee Break and Schmoozing
(Please note change of Conference Location to Harry Harding Auditorium, 2nd Floor)


6:00-7:00 p.m. – Evening Keynote – “Human Rights Within a Governance Empirical Framework: Some Unorthodox Observations from a Non-Expert”
Daniel Kaufmann (Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Brookings Institute)
Comments


April 8th

Please note change of Conference Location to 805 21st Street, NW, B07

8:00-9:00 a.m. – Continental Breakfast


9:00-10:20 a.m. – Panel 4 – Caveats on Metrics

Speakers:
Hans-Otto Sano (Senior Policy Officer, Nordic Trust Fund, OPCS, World Bank)“Human Rights Compliance and Performance Indicators”
Siobhan McInerny-Lankford (Senior Policy Officer, Nordic Trust Fund, OPCS, World Bank)
Elizabeth Eagen (Program Officer, Human Rights Data Initiative, Open Society Foundations) Presentation
ModeratorCharles Kenny (Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development)
Comments


10:20-12:00 p.m. – Panel 5 – Using Datasets to Examine Human Rights and Economic Change

Speakers:
Robert and Shannon Blanton (Professors of Political Science, University of Memphis) – “Rights, Institutions, and FDI” Presentation
Rod Abouharb (Lecturer in International Relations, University College, London) – “Can the WTO Help Nations Clean Up and Improve Human Rights?” Presentation
Jean-Pierre Chauffour (Lead Economist, International Trade and Development Group, World Bank) – “On the Relevance of Positive and Negative Rights in Economic Development – New empirical evidence (1975-2007)” Presentation
Daniel Meija (Associate Professor of Economics, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia) – “Is Violence Against Union Members in Colombia Systematic and Targeted?”
Moderator: Emmanuel Teitelbaum (Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, GWU)
Comments


12:00-1:30 p.m. – Lunch and Lunch Keynote
Introduction: Sabine Donner (Senior Project Manager, Bertelsmann Foundation)
Keynote Presenter: James Foster (Professor of Economics and International Affairs, GWU-IIEP) – “Finding Meaningful Numbers”
Comments


1:30-3:05 p.m. – Panel 6 – NGO and Business Perspectives on Metrics to Assess Human Rights

Gerard Pachoud (Special Advisor, UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights) – “The Ruggie Guidelines and Use of Metrics to Assess Business Human Rights Performance”
Panelists will discuss how business can and does use metrics to assess human rights
Speakers:
Bennett Freeman (Senior Vice President, Sustainability Research and Policy, Calvert Investments)
Chris Jochnick (Director, Private Sector Department, Oxfam America)
Faris Natour (Director of Research, Business for Social Responsibility)
Olav Ljosne (Senior Manager, International Operations, Shell Oil Company)
ModeratorHans J. Hogrefe (Senior Policy Officer, Physicians for Human Rights)
Comments


3:05-3:15 p.m. – Coffee Break


3:15-4:45 p.m. – Panel 7 – New Governmental Strategies That Use Metrics and Link Economic Growth and Human Rights

Speakers:
Ginny Bauman (Director of Partnerships, Free the Slaves) and Jane Sigmon (Senior Coordinator, International Programs, Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Office) – “Metrics to Assess Progress in Reducing Trafficking” Presentation
Raymond Gilpin (Associate Vice President, USIP) and Mike Dzniec (Senior Program Officer, USIP) – “Measuring Progress with Reconstruction and Human Rights in Conflict Environments: A Metrics Framework” Presentation
Tom Kelly (Managing Director, Millenium Challenge Corporation, US Government) – “How the MCC uses Metrics”
Moderator: Michael Moore (Professor of Economics and International Affairs, GWU-IIEP)
Comments


4:30-5:30 p.m. – So, What do you think? Are these metrics useful? Can they be improved?
Moderator: Susan Aaronson (Associate Research Professor of International Affairs, GWU-IIEP)
Comments

1st Annual Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) Conference

Friday, March 11, 2011

Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St. NW
Washington D.C. 20052

The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights trade research at institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest academic work. Researchers from George Washington University, American University, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Georgetown University, the Inter-American Development Bank, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the U.S. International Trade Commission, the University of Maryland, and the World Bank have all participated in the symposium.

Contact iiep@gwu.edu with any questions.

View the Schedule

George Washington University’s Institute for International Economic Policy, housed at the Elliott School of International Affairs, is dedicated to producing and disseminating high-quality non-partisan academic and policy relevant research on international economic policy. Areas of focus include international trade, international finance, and development economics.

Financial Regulation and Supervision: Lessons from the Crisis

The Institute for International Economic Policy, the National Center for Sustainable Development, and the Bertelsmann Foundation

International Monetary Fund

Conference videos coming soon.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

8:15 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

City View Room, 7th Floor
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20052

Continental breakfast at 8:15 AM

8:45-9:00 AM: Welcome and Opening Remarks

Stephen C. Smith (Director, Institute for International Economic Policy, and Professor of Economics and International Affairs, GW)

9:00-10:00 AM: Session 1 – What Went Wrong: Market and Regulatory Failures

Prof. John Geanakoplos (Yale University)
Prof. Matthew Richardson (NYU)

10:00-10:15 AM: Coffee Break

10:15-11:15 PM: Session 1 (cont’d) – What Went Wrong: Market and Regulatory Failures

Prof. Ross Levine (Brown University)
Prof. Phillip Swagel (Georgetown University & former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy

11:15-11:30 AM: Coffee Break

11:30AM-1:00 PM: Session 2 – The Regulation of Financial Institutions

Dr. Stijn Claessens (Research Department, IMF)
Prof. Douglas Gale (NYU)
Prof. Mark Flannery (University of Florida)

1:00-2:30 PM: Lunch Break

2:30-4:00 PM: Session 3 – The Regulation of Financial Markets

Dr. Laura Kodres (Research Department, IMF)
Prof. Neil Pearson (University of Illinois)
Prof. Erik Stafford (Harvard Business School)

4:00-4:15 PM: Coffee Break

4:15-5:00 PM: Keynote Address – The Regulatory Response to the Financial Crisis: An Early Assessment

Dr. Jeffrey Lacker – President, Federal Reserve Board of Richmond

5:00-5:30 PM: Open Floor Discussion

Is Fairer Trade Compatible with Freer Markets?

Cosponsored by the Government of the Netherlands,
the Heinrich Boell Foundation and the Financial Times

Conference Videos coming soon.

Thursday, March 4 and Friday, March 5, 2010

Lindner Commons, Suite 602
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20052

March 4, 2010

6:00-7:30 PM – Evening Keynote
Michael Conroy, PhD (Chair of the Board, TransFair)
Fairer Trade and Freer Trade: The Evolution of Strategies That Work for the Poor

March 5, 2010

8:00-8:30 AM Continental breakfast

 

8:30 – 9:00 AM
Introductory Remarks: Steve Suranovic (GWU-IIEP)
“Defining Fairness in Trade”
A description of the conference and an overview of what we mean by fairness as applied in international trade discussions. Do we mean fairness of outcome? Do we mean fairness of process, or both? PPT

 

9:00 – 10:30 AM – Fairness in the Real World
There is a lot of talk about fair trade, but we really know little about what policymakers, academics, and consumers are concerned about when they think about fair trade. This panel will focus on perceptions of fair trade among these groups and how these perceptions play out in global and national markets.
Michael Hiscox (Harvard) PPT
Shareen Hertel (UConn) Paper and PPT
Doug Nelson (Tulane and Univ. of Nottingham) Paper and PPT
Sean Ehrlich (Florida State) Paper

 

10:40-11:00 AM Coffee Break

 

11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Consumers and Fair Trade
Is there sufficient consumer demand for products carrying social/eco labels signaling they are fairly produced? Are fair trade strategies workable and sustainable? How do public policies channel or distort fairer trade?
Daniel Stokes (TransFair FLO) Paper
Kelly Johnston (Vice President – Government Affairs, Campbells Soup) Paper
Eric Biel (Managing Director, Corporate Responsibility, Burston Marsteller)
Kim Elliott (CGD)

 

12:30 – 2:00 PM – Luncheon Keynote – “Making Markets Work for the Poor”
Monika Weber-Fahr
 (Global Business Line Leader, IFC, World Bank) PPT
Moderated by: James Politi (The Financial Times)

 

2:00 – 3:30 PM – Producers and Fair Trade
How can market actors work to achieve fairer outcomes for workers? Do such strategies yield more productive workers? How do they affect market share and profits?
David Berdish (Ford Motor Company) Paper
Rene Van Hell (Deputy Director for Trade Politics and Globalization in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Holland) Paper
Bama Athreya (International Labor Rights Forum)
Charita Castro (Division Chief for Operations, Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking, Bureau of International Labor Affairs) PPT P D F icon

 

3:30 – 3:45 PM – Coffee Break

 

3:45 – 4:30 PM – So, What do you think? Are Freer Markets Compatible with Fairer Outcomes for the Poor?
Prof. Susan Aaronson (GWU) will ask audience questions focused on the Conference objective, “Are Free Markets Compatible with Fairer Outcomes for the poor?”
Will fair trade strategies yield fairer outcomes?
Will they distort trade?
Will consumers respond? If so, what are the best strategies to achieve fairer trade?

4:30 – 4:45 PM – Conclusions
Prof. Steve Suranovic (GWU) will summarize the conference findings: What do we think about these options? What is the future of fairer trade strategies?

Antidumping Use Across the World

Implications for Developing Countries and U.S. Businesses

Thursday and Friday, April 9 & 10, 2009

8:00 – 3:00 PM (Thursday), 8:00 – 1:30 PM (Friday)

Lindner Commons, Suite 602
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20052

Thursday, April 9, 2009

 

8:00 – 8:45 AM – Continental breakfast

 

8:45 – 9:45 AM – Tom Prusa (Rutgers and NBER) – Trade Liberalization, Tariff Overhang and Antidumping Filing in Developing Countries”
Discussant: Michael Moore (GWU-IIEP)

 

9:45 – 10:45 AM – Maurizio Zanardi (ULB-ECARES): “Trade Liberalization and Antidumping in Developing Countries: Is There a Substitution Effect?”
Discussant: Rod Ludema (Georgetown)

 

10:45 – 11:00 AM – Coffee Break

 

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Kara Reynolds (American): “Overcoming Free-Riding: A Cross-Country Analysis of Firm Participation in Antidumping Petitions” 
Discussant: Judith Dean (USITC)

 

12:00 – 1:00 PM – Lunch

 

1:00 – 2:00 PM – Chad Bown (Brandeis)
Discussant: Bob Feinberg (American)

 

2:00 – 3:00 PM – Justin Pierce (Georgetown): “Plant Level Responses to Antidumping Duties: Evidence from U.S. Manufacturers” 
Discussant: Maggie Chen (GWU-IIEP)

==============================================

Friday, April 10, 2009

 

“Expanding Use of Antidumping and Prospects for Reform”

 

8:00 – 9:00 AM – Continental breakfast

 

9:00 – 10:00 AM – Global Antidumping Use and Implications for Developing Countries
Chad Bown (Brandeis)
Maurizio Zanardi (ULB-ECARES)
Jorge Miranda (King and Spaulding)

 

10:00 – 11:00 AM – Basic Concepts of Antidumping
Tom Prusa (Rutgers and NBER) – Economists’ Views
Matt Nolan (Arent Fox) – Lawyers’ views
Stephen Claeys (former Dep. Asst. Sec. for Import Administration) – Administrators’ views

 

11:00 – 11:15 AM – Coffee Break

 

11:15 AM – 12:15 PM – Reforming Antidumping
Michael Moore (GWU-IIEP) – Economists’ views
Jim Durling (Winston and Strawn) – Respondent Lawyers’ views
Stephen Jones (King and Spaulding) – Petitioner Lawyers’ views

 

12:15 – 1:30 PM – Lunch and Keynote Address
Grant Aldonas (former Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade)
“Trade Remedies’ Impact on U.S. Commercial Policy”

NAFTA at 15

Assessing the Past and Preparing for the Future

Friday, March 27, 2009

Lindner Commons, Suite 602
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20052

8:30 – 9:20 AM Continental breakfast

 

9:20 – 9:30 AM
Introductory Remarks: Michael Moore (GWU-IIEP)

 

9:30 – 10:45 AM – NAFTA’s Origins and Impact on the U.S. and Canada
Moderator: Steve Suranovic (GWU-IIEP)
Sidney Weintraub (Center for Strategic and International Studies): Origins of North American Integration
Gary Hufbauer (Peterson Institute): NAFTA and the U.S.
Richard Harris (Simon Fraser University): NAFTA and Canada

 

10:45 AM – 12:00 PM – Impact on Mexico
Moderator: Cynthia McClintock (GWU-LAHSP)
Nora Lustig (GWU-IIEP): Growth, Inequality and Poverty in Post-NAFTA Mexico
Eric Verhoogen (Columbia University): Impact on Mexican Firms
Phil Martin (University of California – Davis): Immigration flows under NAFTA

 

12:00 – 12:45 PM – Remarks on “The Future of NAFTA” by Jaime Serra (former Mexican chief negotiator for NAFTA)

 

12:45 – 1:45 PM – Lunch

1:45 – 3:00 PM – What’s Next for North American Integration? Views from the Academy
Moderator: Nora Lustig (GWU-IIEP)
Robert Pastor (American University)
Gustavo Vega (El Colegio de Mexico) PowerPoint
John Curtis (Centre for International Governance Innovation)

 

3:00 – 3:15 PM – Coffee Break

 

3:15 – 4:30 PM – North American Governments’ Priorities
Moderator: Michael Moore (GWU-IIEP)
Grant Aldonas (former U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade)
Beatriz Leycegui (Mexican Undersecretary of Economy for International Trade Negotiations) PowerPoint
Susan Harper (Economic Minister for the Embassy of Canada)

A Research Symposium on New Directions for Research on Microfinance

Sponsored by the Institute for International Economic Policy, GWU Department of Economics,and GW-Center for International Business Education and Research

Friday, April 20, 2007

Alumni House
1925 F St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20052

9:30 AM: Welcome and Overview of the Conference

Stephen C. Smith (Professor of Economics and International Affairs, GW)

 

9:45-10:45 AM: Alain de Janvry and Elisabeth Sadoulet (University of California-Berkeley and World Bank), “The Supply and Demand Side of Credit Information,” (with Craig McIntosh, University of California-San Diego)

 

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Joe Kaboski, (OSU) “Testing a Structural Model of Credit Constraints Using a Large-Scale Quasi Experimental Microfinance Initiative,” (with Robert Townsend, University of Chicago)

 

12:00-1:00 PM: Lunch

 

1:00-2:00 PM: Jonathan Conning, (Hunter College/CUNY), “Foundations of Social Investment” (with Jonanthan Morduch, New York University)

 

2:15-3:15 PM Shahe Emran, (GWU), “Microfinance and Missing Markets” (with Joseph Stiglitz, Columbia University)

 

3:30-4:30 PM Dean Karlan, (Yale University), “Expanding Credit Access: Using Randomized Supply Decisions to Estimate the Impacts” (with Jonathan Zinman, Dartmouth University)

 

4:30 PM Closing Remarks