Macroeconomic Challenges Facing Low-Income Countries
New Perspectives
January 30-31, 2014
The International Monetary Fund will hold the "Macroeconomic Challenges Facing Low-Income Countries" Conference at its headquarters in Washington DC on January 30–31, 2014. The conference is sponsored by the International Monetary Fund and funded by the UK Department for International Development.
The conference aims to provide a forum for discussing innovative theoretical and empirical research on the key macroeconomic challenges facing low-income countries, and to facilitate the exchange of views among researchers and policymakers. One of the key goals is to increase the attention devoted to macroeconomic issues in low-income countries. The papers shed light on how such macroeconomic challenges operate in practice, and how they interact with each other, especially in terms of their effect on growth, macroeconomic stability, and resilience to shocks. Conference topics include monetary policy, fiscal policy, natural resource management, investment and growth, economic diversification and structural transformation, and financial sector development.
The deadline for public registration is Monday, January 27, 2014. Registered attendees are required to present photo identification on entering the IMF at 1900 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. For questions regarding the conference, please send an email to LICsConference@imf.org. Please note that, for this event, invitations for visa purposes will be extended only to the conference presenters.
Conference Agenda
Thursday, January 30, 2014 |
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| 8:30–9:00am | Registration |
| 9:00–9:15am | Opening Remarks |
| 9:15–10:45am | Session 1: Macroeconomic Policies and Inequality |
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Moderator: Irina Telyukova (UCSD and IMF)
"Income inequality, trade, and financial openness" Guay C. Lim (University of Melbourne) and Paul D. McNelis* (Fordham University)  Presentation |
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| 10:45–11:00am | Coffee Break |
| 11:00–12:30pm | Session 2: Investment, Infrastructure, and Growth |
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Moderator: Andrew Warner (IMF) "Investing volatile oil revenues in capital-scarce economies: An application to Angola" Christine Richmond, Irene Yackovlev*, and Susan Yang* (IMF) Presentation |
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| 12:30–1:30pm | Lunch (By invitation, HQ2, Conference Hall 2) |
| 1:30–3:00pm | Session 3: Monetary and Exchange Rate Policy |
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Moderator: Felipe Zanna (IMF)
"Monetary policy in low income countries in the face of the global crisis:
The case of Zambia" |
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| 3:00–3:30pm | Coffee Break |
| 3:30–5:00pm | Session 4: Economic Diversification and Growth |
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Moderator: Chris Papageorgiou (IMF) |
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| 5:15–7:00pm | Reception / Dinner (By invitation, HQ2-02B-300G) |
Friday, January 31, 2014 |
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| 9:00–10:30am | Session 5: Macroeconomic Shocks, Uncertainty, and Growth |
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Moderator: Alberto Martin (CREI and IMF) |
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| 10:30–11:00am | Coffee Break |
| 11:00–12:30pm |
Session 6: Managing the Capital Account Moderator: Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti (IMF) Session 7: Measuring Economic Output “Output data revisions in low-income countries” |
| 12:30–1:30pm | Lunch (By invitation, HQ2, Conference Hall 2) |
| 1:30–3:45pm | Session 8: Financial Sector Shocks and Instability |
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Moderator: Galina Hale (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco) “Banking market structure and macroeconomic stability: Are low-income countries special?” “Financial sector reforms, competition, and banking system stability in sub-Saharan Africa” |
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| 3:45–4:15pm | Coffee Break |
| 4:15–5:00pm |
Panel Discussion: New Perspectives on Low-Income Country Macroeconomics
Chair: Min Zhu (Deputy Managing Director, IMF)
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| 5:00-5:15pm | Closing Remarks Speakers: |
Watch VideoConference organizers
- Camelia Minoiu (IMF, Research Department)
Conference coordinators
- Carla Intal (IMF, Strategy, Policy and Review Department)
- Biva Joshi (IMF, Research Department)
- Jing Wang (IMF, Research Department)
- Kelsey Woodard (IMF, Research Department)