International economic history conference for the 90 years of the Bank of Greece with the participation of European central bank Governors
23/10/2018 - Press Releases
On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of its operation (1928), the Bank of Greece is organising an international economic history conference, entitled “The birth of inter-war central banks: building a new monetary order”, to be held in Athens, at the hotel “Grande Bretagne”, on November 2-3, 2018.
The conference shall focus on central banking in the inter-war years, particularly the string of new banks that were established in the 1920s and 1930s, of which the Bank of Greece was one. Many of those institutions were born in an attempt to restore international monetary order and promote central-bank cooperation in the aftermath of World War I. After 1929, the Great Depression challenged the viability of this order and forced many of the new-born institutions to re-evaluate their policy priorities and their relationship to the state and with each other.
The conference, which shall commence on Friday 2 November, at 10.00, with a welcome address by the Governor of the Bank of Greece, Yannis Stournaras, will bring together fifteen prominent scholars from eleven different countries, working on the history of money and banking, to present papers on different aspects of inter-war central banking, as well as specific national experiences. Barry Eichengreen, Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley will deliver the keynote lecture, entitled “The crucible of modern central banking” during the first day of the conference.
The first day of the conference shall include two panels: one devoted to “International and institutional dimensions” and another on the experience in “Central and Eastern Europe”. It shall also include a round table discussion, on Friday 2 November in the afternoon, themed “Monetary policy and bank supervision in Europe after the last financial and sovereign debt crisis and challenges for the future”, with the participation of the following European central bank Governors: Ewald Nowotny (Austria), Olli Rehn (Finland), Jan Smets (Belgium), Mario Vella (Malta) and Yannis Stournaras (Greece). The discussion shall offer the opportunity to take a more long-term view of current policy challenges and the prospects of central bank cooperation within Europe.
The second day of the Conference, Saturday 3 November, shall also include two panels: the first one, starting at 10:00, will be devoted to the experience in “The Balkans”, whereas the afternoon session will be on “Latin America & the British Dominions”.
• For more information you can visit the Bank of Greece website or send an e-mail to conference2018@bankofgreece.gr .
Additional material:
Programme (.pdf)
Poster (.pdf)