JRCPPF 13th Annual Conference: Macrofinance in the Long Run - Keynote Address, Ben Bernanke

Ben Bernanke
Date & Time Feb 23 2024 12:45 PM - 1:45 PM
Location TBD
Speaker(s)
Ben Bernanke
Audience Open to the Public, Registration Required

In person at Princeton University.  A livestream will be available.

Organized by the Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy & Finance, this year's conference will explore significant questions for long-run macrofinance.

The global economy has undergone profound changes in the aftermath of the pandemic, characterized by an uneven recovery and heightened uncertainty. The last two years have witnessed a resurgence of inflation concerns in advanced economies and emerging markets, coupled with rising rates. This departure from a quarter-century era of exceptionally low interest rates, elevated debt levels, and soaring asset valuations has introduced new challenges and uncertainties. While the immediate disruptions of the pandemic are receding, there will likely be long-lasting aftereffects on how economies are structured, both domestically and globally, as monetary policy continues to be tight, trade networks realign, and global financial flows react.

These shifts set the agenda for our 2024 conference, exploring the significant and potentially enduring trends shaping long-run macrofinance. The conference sessions highlight several critical issues that can help explain these transformations. Why has capital formation been so limited over the past few decades despite long-term low, real rates? Understanding the dynamics of this relationship becomes crucial as the global economy adapts to the tightening cycle initiated in 2022. Rising rates will have differential impacts across different sectors and regions, hurting some economies more than others. Delving deeper, the conference will explore the structural roots of macroeconomic imbalances (both in terms of cross-border imbalances and inequality within countries), how these imbalances arise, and the linkages with interest rates and financial markets.