Franco-German Fiscal Policy Seminar 2023

Call for papers

Franco-German Fiscal Policy Seminar 2023

The French Ministry for the Economy and Finance is pleased to announce the call for papers for the 2023 Franco-German Fiscal Policy Seminar (FPS), which will take place in Paris on 7-8 November 2023.

This annual Seminar aims to bridge the gap between academic research and policy-making. This year’s topic is:

Economic policies in time of scarcities

The energy crisis caused by the Russian’s war of aggression on Ukraine has changed the paradigm of energy availability and security in Europe, and increased food supply challenges in many countries, in particular in the developing world. Before that, the COVID-19 pandemic had shown how disruptions of supply chains in times of crisis could affect the availability of critical production.

These add to a series of scarcities that policymakers have now been facing. The impact of climate change creates increased pressure on natural resources while, in reaction, investments in the energy transition by governments and companies have trigged competition for critical raw materials. The post-pandemic recovery has given rise to labor and skills shortages, while the effect of the crisis on productivity and potential growth remains unclear.

Confronted with these scarcities, governments are committed to respond. However, they are seeing their room for maneuver constrained by limited fiscal space in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis and the ongoing and rapid monetary tightening by central banks.

The aim of the 2023 Franco-German Fiscal Policy Seminar is therefore to present cutting-edge academic work that can contribute to our understanding of the economic mechanisms at work in times of scarcities, to inform policymakers about appropriate responses, and to allow for laying the foundations for more resilient and competitive economies. An additional goal of the FPS is to identify new questions for research and policy-making.
 
 
We are especially interested in submissions covering topics that include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following issues:

• Risk, resilience, and recalibration in global value chains
• Labor shortages, labor reallocations and labor policies
• Productivity in the post-COVID world
• Impact of the two recent crises (energy and COVID) on income, wealth, intergenerational and gender inequalities
• Inflation dynamics and the appropriate policy mix after the energy crisis
• Strengthening the resilience of the EMU to future shocks
• Macroeconomic consequences of uncertainty and tail risks
• Green and digital transitions and public and private debt overhang
• Impact of green transition on external imbalances
• Climate and energy policy after the COVID and energy crises
   

Both theoretical and empirical submissions are welcome. We invite papers in English to be submitted by 10 June 2023 to: francogerman-seminar@dgtresor.gouv.fr (please use the subject line: “Submission for 2023 Franco-German Fiscal Policy Seminar”). Female contributions are encouraged. Authors of accepted papers will be notified by September.
 
 
Travel and hotel expenses of the invited speakers (1 per select paper) will be covered by the French Ministry for the Economy and Finance according to economy fares. At their own expense for residents of non-European countries.
 

Keynote speaker: Pr. Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan (University of Maryland, NBER, CEPR)

Policy panel: “European Economic Sovereignty: goals, costs and benefits, and policy trade-offs”
 
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian war of aggression of Ukraine, and an international context marked by increased competition between powers, the idea of a European economic sovereignty has come to the foreground. This concept remains ambivalent and debated since not all EU countries have the same perception of their sovereignty and the threats it faces. Yet, the multifaceted challenges the EU is confronted with (energy independence, resilient supply chains, access to critical raw materials, green and digital transition) may call for a redefinition of the EU’s strategic aims and the development of a new integrated doctrine for international economic relations. In the meantime, costs and benefits of Europe asserting its strategic autonomy and role as a global power should be carefully assessed, all the more as they might not be evenly distributed between and within countries and over time. Therefore, they may entail key policy trade-offs. This panel aims to discuss the goals that the EU should or should not pursue as a strategic power, identify the costs and benefits associated with them, table the trade-offs facing policy makers and review the potential instruments at its disposal and that need to be developed.
 
 
Scientific Committee:
Incoming French Treasury Chief Economist, Chair
Agnès Bénassy-Quéré (Banque de France and PSE)
Giancarlo Corsetti (European University Institute)
Aitor Erce (Navarra Public University and INARBE)
Sébastien Jean (CNAM)
Gianmarco Ottaviano (Bocconi University, Milan)
Andreas Peichl (ifo Institute and University of Munich)
Barbara Petrongolo (University of Oxford and CEPR)

Xavier Ragot (Sciences Po – CNRS and OFCE, Paris)
Almuth Scholl (University of Konstanz)
Moritz Schularick (University of Bonn and Sciences Po)
Carine Staropoli (Paris School of Economics)
 
 
Contact: francogerman-seminar@dgtresor.gouv.fr