Against The Odds: Lessons From the Recovery in the Baltics, Riga, Latvia, Tuesday, June 5, 2012

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Riga, Latvia, Tuesday, June 5, 2012

AGAINST THE ODDS: Lessons From the Recovery in The Baltics

A Conference on "Lessons From the Recovery in the Baltics" will be held in Riga, Latvia at The Great Guild on Tuesday, June 5, 2012

This day-long conference will bring together prominent policymakers, academics, and civil society representatives to discuss the policies that helped Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia overcome the crisis, restore economic growth, and make progress toward—and in Estonia’s case achieve—the goal of euro adoption. It will address the political, economic, or social factors that made the adjustment in the Baltic countries feasible; how to prevent a reemergence of vulnerabilities in these countries; the role of the Fund and the EC in supporting the adjustment effort in Latvia and the Baltics; whether the adjustment in Latvia and the Baltics can be seen as a model for countries in the euro zone; and what lessons the euro area crisis holds for countries like Latvia and Lithuania that want to adopt the euro.

The conference is open by invitation only. Registered attendees will be required to present photo identification on entering The Great Guild in Riga.

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Preliminary Program

The Great Guild in Riga, Latvia
Tuesday, June 5, 2012

10:30 – 11:30	Registration, welcome coffee
11:30	Welcoming remarks by Andris Bērziņš (President, Republic of Latvia) Mr. Bērziņš was elected President of Latvia in June 2011. He served as parliamentarian from 2010 to 2011 and from 1990 to 1993 when Latvia regained independence. Mr. Bērziņš was previously the President of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the President of the Latvijas Unibanka. He holds an economics degree from the Latvian State University. and Christine Lagarde (Managing Director, IMF) Ms. Lagarde has been the Managing Director of the IMF since 2011. Previously, she was a member of the French government starting in 2005, including as Minister of Finance, Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, and Minister for Foreign Trade. Before Ms. Lagarde was a lawyer with the international law firm Baker & McKenzie and served as Chairman of the Global Strategic Committee. She has a Master’s degree from the Political Science Institute in Aix en Provence and holds a law degree from University Paris X. Webcast Speech
11:45 – 13:00	Session I: Crisis Management and Recovery in Latvia and the Baltics The first session will examine the causes of the crisis and the challenging policies taken to address it – fiscal, financial sector, and structural reforms. Webcast Moderator: Jens Henriksson (President Nasdaq OMX Stockholm) Mr. Henriksson has been the President of NASDAQ OMX Stockholm since 2010. Previously, he was a Board member of the IMF from January 2008 to January 2010, and held several positions at the Ministry of Finance in Sweden, including as State Secretary responsible for economic policy. He has a Master’s degree in engineering complemented with graduate studies in economics at the Stockholm university. Speakers: Valdis Dombrovskis (Prime Minister of Latvia) Mr. Dombrovskis has been Prime Minister of Latvia since 2009. He was previously a member of the European Parliament, and served as Minister of Finance from 2002 to 2004. Prior, Mr. Dombrovskis held several positions at the Bank of Latvia, including that of chief economist from 1998 to 2002. In 2011 he co-authored How Latvia came through the Financial Crisis. He has a Master’s degree in physics and a Bachelor’s degree in economics. Anders Borg (Minister of Finance, Sweden) Mr. Borg became Sweden’s Minister of Finance in 2006. He was previously chief economist of the Moderate Party and has served as an advisor to the Swedish central bank and as head of the economic analysis department at Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken. Mr. Borg was a political advisor to the Prime Minister during the economic crisis in the early 1990s. He studied political science, philosophy, and economics at the universities in Uppsala and in Stockholm. Ingrida Šimonytė (Minister of Finance, Lithuania) Ms. Šimonytė has been Lithuania’s Minister of Finance since 2009. Prior she held various positions in the Ministry of Finance including as Chief Economist of the Tax Division; Director of the Tax Department, and as Undersecretary of the Ministry from 2004 to 2009. Ms. Šimonyte has a Bachelor’s degree in business administration and a Master’s degree in finance from Vilnius University. Olivier Blanchard (Chief Economist, IMF) Mr. Blanchard is the Economic Counselor and the Director of the Research Department at the IMF. He has had a long career with MIT, where he served as the Chairman of the Economics Department from 1998 to 2003. Mr. Blanchard is currently on leave from MIT. He has been an adviser for the Federal Reserve bank of Boston since 1995. Mr. Blanchard obtained his PhD in economics from MIT and his Bachelor’s degree at Paris Dauphine University Gabriele Giudice (Mission Chief for Latvia, EC) Mr. Giudice is responsible for the surveillance of Greece, and its Economic Adjustment Program, at the European Commission, DG ECFIN. From 2009 until May 2012, he was the EU mission chief for Latvia. He has served as economist with the EC since 1994, including in the private office of the Commissioner for economic and monetary affairs Joaquín Almunia. Mr. Giudice is an economics graduate of the Bocconi University and of the Institute for International Policy Studies, Milan.
13:00 – 14:30	Buffet Lunch
14:30 – 16:00	Session II: The Remaining Challenges As Latvia and the other Baltic countries emerge from the crisis and aim at (or succeed in) euro adoption, what policies are needed to strengthen the recovery and to secure competitiveness and growth under the fixed exchange rate or common currency? Webcast Moderator: Pauls Raudseps (Chairman of the Board, Ir.lv) Mr. Raudseps is one of Latvia’s leading journalists and commentators. He was one of the founders of the daily Diena and subsequently its managing editor and editorial page editor. He recently founded the weekly news magazine "Ir". In 1990 he joined the Popular Front, which led the quest for Latvian independence. Mr. Raudseps received a degree in Russian and Soviet Studies from Harvard University. Speakers: Jurgen Ligi (Minister of Finance, Estonia) Mr. Ligi has been Estonia’s Minister of Finance since 2009 and oversaw the country’s introduction of the euro. Mr. Ligi served as Minister of Defense from 2005 to 2007. He was a member of the Estonian Parliament, from 1995 to 2005 and from 2007 to 2009. Mr. Ligi has an MBA from Estonian Business School and studied geography and international economics at Tartu University. Andris Vilks (Minister of Finance, Latvia) Mr. Vilks has been Latvia’s Minister of Finance since November 2010. Prior to his appointment, he was economic and financial advisor to Prime Minister Dombrovskis from 2009 to 2010 and chief economist at SEB Banka from 2007 to 2009. Mr. Vilks is a trained geographer with a degree from the University of Latvia. Giancarlo Corsetti (Professor of Macroeconomics, University of Cambridge) Mr. Corsetti is Professor of Macroeconomics at the University of Cambridge and part-time professor at the European University Institute in Florence. He was previously Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Bologna and is a member of the editorial board of the IMF Economic Review. Mr. Corsetti has a PhD in economics from Yale University. Cecilia Hermansson (Chief Economist, Swedbank) Ms. Hermansson is Chief Economist at Swedbank and overseas a team of economists based in Stockholm, Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius. She has held positions at Sweden’s Ministry of Finance and at the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. Ms. Hermansson co-chairs the Conference Board’s Council of European Economists and is a graduate of Stockholm School of Economics. Mark Griffiths (Mission Chief for Latvia, IMF) Mr. Griffiths has been IMF’s Latvia mission chief since 2008. Prior he was the mission chief for Macedonia. Mr. Griffiths started his career at the Fund in 1993, where he has worked on the Thailand, Indonesia and Turkey crises programs. Previously he held teaching positions at Exeter College, Oxford and at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Mr. Griffiths has a PhD in economics from Oxford University.
16:00 – 16:30	Coffee Break
16:30 – 18:00	Session III: High-Level Panel—Lessons from Latvia and the Baltics What lessons should European policymakers draw from the adjustment experience of Latvia and the Baltics? Webcast Moderator: Chrystia Freeland (Global Editor, Reuters) Ms. Freeland was appointed editor of Thomson Reuters Digital in 2011 and joined the company in 2010 as Reuters global editor-at-large. Prior, Ms. Freeland held several positions with the Financial Times including as the US managing editor, Moscow bureau chief and Eastern Europe correspondent. She authored Sale of a Century: The Inside Story of the Second Russian Revolution, and has a bachelor’s degree in history and literature from Harvard University. Christine Lagarde (Managing Director, IMF) Ms. Lagarde has been the Managing Director of the IMF since 2011. Previously, she was a member of the French government starting in 2005, including as Minister of Finance, Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, and Minister for Foreign Trade. Before Ms. Lagarde was a lawyer with the international law firm Baker & McKenzie and served as Chairman of the Global Strategic Committee. She has a Master’s degree from the Political Science Institute in Aix en Provence and holds a law degree from University Paris X. Jörg Asmussen (Executive Board Member, ECB) Mr. Asmussen has been a Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank since January 2012. He is responsible for the Directorate General for international and European relations and for the Directorate General for legal services. Prior to joining the ECB, Mr. Asmussen served as State Secretary at the German Ministry of Finance from 2008 to 2011. He has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Bocconi University in Milan. Olli Rehn (European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, EC) Mr. Rehn has been the European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs since 2010 and Vice-President of the Commission since 2011. He was previously the Commissioner for Enlargement. Mr. Rehn was a member of the Finnish Parliament from 1991 to 1995 and of the European Parliament from 1995 to 1996. He has a PhD in international political economy from Oxford University. Sharan Burrow (General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation) Ms. Burrow was elected General Secretary of ITUC in June 2010. Prior to that, Ms. Burrow was the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) starting in 1992. She served as inaugural President of the ITUC when it was founded in 2006, and of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (a predecessor organization to the ITUC). Valdis Dombrovskis (Prime Minister of Latvia) Mr. Dombrovskis has been Prime Minister of Latvia since 2009. He was previously a member of the European Parliament, and served as Minister of Finance from 2002 to 2004. Prior, Mr. Dombrovskis held several positions at the Bank of Latvia, including that of chief economist from 1998 to 2002. In 2011 he co-authored How Latvia came through the Financial Crisis. He has a Master’s degree in physics and a Bachelor’s degree in economics.