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More than 650 researchers from around the world participate in second BSE Summer Forum
The 2014 BSE Summer Forum drew researchers from over 200 academic institutions, central banks, and research centers around the world. This year's edition expanded to include 23 workshops with more than 300 papers presented.
The Barcelona School of Economics held the second edition of the Summer Forum from June 9-28, 2014. The BSE Summer Forum is a series of independent workshops and policy events that cover the main fields of Economics. The event brings top researchers from around the globe to Barcelona to debate the present and future of the frontier of knowledge in Economics.
This year, 673 academics and researchers participated in the Summer Forum (up from around 400 last year). They included faculty from prestigious universities such as Harvard, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, NYU, Paris School of Economics, Princeton, Singapore University, Stanford, Tilburg, University of Chicago and University of Mannheim, as well as economists from top institutions such as Banca d'Italia, Bank of Canada, Banque de France, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Central Bank, and the United States Federal Reserves of Chicago, New York, and St. Louis. Over 200 institutions around the world were represented at the Summer Forum this year.
Video: Victor Lavy, Nezih Guner, George Borjas, and Caterina Calsamiglia
The "number one economic forum in Europe"
According to participants, the workshops are very focused and selective and provide the ideal platform to exchange ideas with other researchers who are working in the same research area. "This is only the second year, but the BSE Summer Forum is already the number one economic forum in Europe," said Princeton University's Hannes Schwandt (Economics '07 and GPEFM '12). "The level is high, and [the organizers] are very selective."
Each workshop is organized by a team including BSE Affiliated Professors and researchers from other institutions. Over 1,000 papers were submitted for consideration this year, with about one in three papers chosen for inclusion in the workshops.
Video: Fabrizio Zilibotti
Summer Forum Policy Events
In addition to the workshops, the Summer Forum included two policy events featuring invited experts and open to the public. The first event was a lecture by University of Zurich's Fabrizio Zilibotti on China: The Great Convergence and Beyond. The second event was the roundtable, From Policy to Evidence (and Back): Education and Immigration. The panelists for the roundtable were George Borjas (Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University), Caterina Calsamiglia (UAB and BSE), and Victor Lavy (University of Warwick and Hebrew University).
The Summer Forum policy events are a way to connect academic research with the challenges facing society at large. "In Spain in particular and Europe in general, there is a need for pushing policy evaluation and making policy makers accountable for their actions," said roundtable chair Nezih Guner (ICREA-MOVE, UAB and BSE).
Summer Forum participants
Barcelona as a global hub of economic knowledge
By providing a meeting point for academic researchers from around the world and a platform for bringing informed policy analysis to the public, the BSE Summer Forum has become an important piece of the School's strategy to position Barcelona as a global hub of economic knowledge.
"Having a reputation as an international reference in economic research helps us attract top faculty and top students for our programs," said Jaume Ventura (CREI, UPF and BSE), who organized the Summer Forum together with Omar Licandro (IAE-CSIC and BSE).
Evidence of this growing reputation can be seen in the list of sponsors supporting Summer Forum activities. The event is one of the research initiatives that the BSE has created with the support of the Severo Ochoa Recognition of Excellence Program, a program of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness that recognizes research institutions with international impact. In addition to the Severo Ochoa funding, the Summer Forum policy events and many workshops received support from organizations such as AXA Research Fund, Banco de España, CSIC, European Research Council, Fundació Catalunya-La Pedrera, RecerCaixa, and UniCredit.
Summer Forum Photos and Videos
Summer Forum Policy Roundtable on Education and Immigration
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Summer Forum Policy Lecture on China: The Great Convergence and Beyond
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