International Monetary Fund

Fiscal Forum

Fiscal Policy and the Crisis: Lessons Learnt and the Way Forward

April 18, 2012

Fiscal Forum: Fiscal Policy and the Crisis: Lessons Learnt and the Way Forward

 

The third IMF Fiscal Forum, organized by the Fiscal Affairs Department, will take place on April 18, 2012 in Washington. The forum will focus on "Fiscal Policy and the Crisis: Lessons Learnt and the Way Forward," with sessions on policy implications of the lessons learned from the crisis. A roundtable discussion will focus on priorities for fiscal policy going forward.

Senior government officials from major advanced, emerging and developing economies around the world will participate, with the Forum providing an opportunity to share country experiences and views just prior to the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde will open the Forum and Stanley Fischer, Governor of the Bank of Israel will deliver the keynote speech during lunch. The Forum will start with short presentations by Olivier Blanchard, Carlo Cottarelli, and José Viñals (all from the IMF) on Fiscal Trends and the Global Economic Outlook. The morning session on Lessons from the Crisis will feature a presentation by Christina Romer, Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley and 5 discussants representing a diverse group of Advanced and Emerging Economies who will share their country experiences.

The afternoon session on Growth-Friendly Fiscal Consolidation will feature a presentation by Francesco Giavazzi, Professor of Economics, Bocconi University and 5 discussants who will again share their country experiences.

Participation in the first two sessions will be by invitation only. The Forum will conclude with a roundtable, moderated by Financial Times U.S. Managing Editor Gillian Tett, and will be open to the public. The panelists are David Lipton, First Deputy Managing Director, IMF; Michael Boskin, Professor of Economics, Stanford University; Vitor Gaspar, Minister of Finance, Portugal; Michael Gavin, Managing Director and Head of International Macro Strategy, Barclays Capital; Richard Trumka, American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations President; and Rodrigo Vergara, Governor, Central Bank of Chile.


Fiscal Forum: Fiscal Policy and the Crisis: Lessons Learnt and the Way Forward
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
9:00 am–9:30 am Registration and coffee
9:30 am–9:45 am Opening session:
  • Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
9:45 am–10:30 am Session 1: The Global Fiscal Crisis—Lessons
so Far
  This session will provide an overview of the global economic environment and seek to identify key lessons from recent financial and fiscal crises.
  Fiscal Trends and the Global Economic Outlook
  Chair: Siddharth Tiwari, Director Strategy, Policy, and Review Department

Speakers:
  • Olivier Blanchard, Economic Counselor and Director, Research Department, IMF
  • Carlo Cottarelli, Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF
10:30 am–10:45 am Coffee
10:45 am–12:10 pm Lessons from the Crisis
  This session will distill lessons from the recent global fiscal crisis. What are the short- and medium-term policy implications of these lessons?
  Chair: Matthew Simmonds, Head of Budget Office, National Treasury, South Africa

Speaker:
  • Christina D. Romer, Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley (20 minutes)

Discussants:
  • Representatives from Germany, Greece, Ireland, and Mexico (10 minutes for each speaker)

Discussion (25 minutes)
12:10 pm–12:30 pm Outlook for Financial Stability
  Speaker:
  • José Viñals, Financial Counselor and Director, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF
12:30 pm–2:15 pm Lunch
  Keynote Speaker:
  • Stanley Fischer, Governor, Bank of Israel
2:15 pm–3:55 pm Session 2: Growth-Friendly Fiscal Consolidation
  This session will seek strategies that balance fiscal consolidation with growth. The focus will be identifying high-quality measures that rebuild market confidence and sustain aggregate demand.

Chair: Masatsugu Asakawa, Deputy Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Japan

Speaker:
  • Francesco Giavazzi, Professor of Economics, Bocconi University, Italy (20 minutes)

Discussants:
  • Representatives from Brazil, Egypt, Ghana, Poland and the United Kingdom (10 minutes for each speaker)

Discussion (30 minutes)
3:55 pm–4:15 pm Coffee
4:15 pm–5:45 pm Session 3: Roundtable Discussion on Fiscal Policy Agenda
  The roundtable will focus on priorities for the fiscal policy going forward. What are the key features of a successful fiscal consolidation plan? What fiscal reforms are needed? How can credibility of fiscal policymaking be boosted?

Moderator: Gillian Tett, U.S. Managing Editor, Financial Times

Panelists:
  • David Lipton, First Deputy Managing Director, IMF
  • Michael Boskin, Professor of Economics, Stanford University
  • Vitor Gaspar, Minister of Finance, Portugal
  • Michael Gavin, Managing Director and Head of International Macro Strategy, Barclays Capital
  • Richard L. Trumka, President, AFL-CIO
  • Rodrigo Vergara, Governor, Central Bank of Chile