In co-operation with the Center for International Macroeconomics at Northwestern University, the Central Bank of Iceland will convene the Reykjavík Economic Conference on 8-9 May 2025.
The Reykjavík Economic Conference brings together distinguished academics and policymakers to engage in discussions and the sharing of insights on macroeconomic analysis and policy challenges and the evolving role of central banks in today's landscape.
Participation will be by invitation only and conference proceedings will be under the Chatham House Rule.
The conference will take place at Harpa Concert and Conference Hall in Reykjavík.
Draft programme
08:00-08:30 Registration and coffee
08:30-08:45 Opening speech
08:45-09:30 The Geography of Capital Allocation in the Euro Area
Paper by: Roland Beck, Antonio Coppola, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Angus J. Lewis, and Matteo Maggiori, Martin Schmitz & Jesse Schreger
Slides: The Geography of Capital Allocation in the Euro Area
Discussant: Goetz von Peter, Bank for International Settlements
Slides: Goetz von Peter
09:30-10:15 Why do Workers Dislike Inflation? Wage Erosion and Conflict Costs
Paper by: Joao Guerreiro, Jonathon Hazell, Chen Lian, and Christina Patterson University of Chicago
Slides: Why do Workers Dislike Inflation? Wage Erosion and Conflict Costs
Discussant: Jane Ryngaert, University of Notre Dame
Slides: Jane Ryngaert
10:15-10:35 Coffee
10:35-11:20 Reconciling Macroeconomics and Finance for the U.S. Corporate Sector: 1929 – Present
Paper by: Andrew Atkeson, UCLA, Jonathan Heathcote, and Fabrizio Perri
Slides: Reconciling Macroeconomics and Finance for the U.S. Corporate Sector: 1929 – Present
Discussant: Ellen McGratten, University of Minnesota
Slides: Ellen McGratten
11:20-11:30 Keynote address: From Magma to Masterpiece: Forging the Future of Cross-Border Payments - This event is live streamed
11:30-12:35 Panel 1: The Economic Consequences of Spending Beyond our Means - Debt and Deficit as a Risk Factor
Chair: Sigríður Benediktsdóttir, Senior Lecturer in Discipline of International and Public Affairs, Columbia
Slides: Sigríður Benediktsdóttir
Deputy Governor Signe Krogstrup, Danmarks Nationalbank
Slides: Signe Krogstrup
Governor Irena Radović, Central Bank of Montenegro
Gylfi Zoëga, Professor, University of Iceland
12:35-13:25 Lunch
13:25-14:10 Deficits and Inflation: HANK meets FTPL
Paper by: George-Marios Angeletos, Northwestern University, Chen Lian and Christian K. Wolf
Slides: Deficits and Inflation: HANK meets FTPL
Discussant: Marco Bassetto, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Slides: Marco Bassetto
14:10-14:55 Banks and the State-Dependent Effects of Monetary Policy
Paper by: Martin Eichenbaum, Federico Puglisi, Sergio Rebelo, and Mathias Trabandt, Goethe University Frankfurt
Slides: Banks and the State-Dependent Effects of Monetary Policy
Discussant: Itamar Drechler, University of Pennsylvania
Slides: Itamar Drechler
14:55-15:40 Charting the Uncharted: The (Un)Intended Consequences of Oil Sanctions and Dark shipping
Paper by: Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, University of Pennsylvania, Yiliang Li, Le Xu and Francesco Zanetti
Slides: Banks and the State-Dependent Effects of Monetary Policy
Discussant: A Craig Burnside, Duke University
Slides: A Craig Burnside
08:00-08:30 Coffee
08:30-08:40 Welcome - This event is live streamed
Governor Ásgeir Jónsson, Central Bank of Iceland
Slides: Welcoming Remarks
08:40-09:10 Keynote address and Q&A: Monetary policy in uncertain times - This event is live streamed
Governor Andrew Bailey, Bank of England
Q&A moderated by Brynja Þorgeirsdóttir, University of Iceland
Full speech: Monetary policy in uncertain times
09:10-09:55 Estimating the Rise in Expected Inflation from Higher Energy Prices
Paper by: Paula Patzelt and Ricardo Reis, London School of Economics
Slides: Estimating the Rise in Expected Inflation from Higher Energy Prices
Discussant: Mark Watson, Princeton University
Slides: Mark Watson
09:55-10:25 Keynote address and Q&A: Artificial intelligence and the labor market - This event is live streamed
Governor Michael S. Barr, Federal Reserve Board
Q&A moderated by Francine Lacqua, Bloomberg
Full speech: Artificial intelligence and the labor market
10:25-10:45 Coffee
10:45-11:15 Keynote address and Q&A: Assessing maximum employment - This event is live streamed
Governor Adriana Kugler, Federal Reserve Board
Q&A moderated by Francine Lacqua, Bloomberg
Full speech: Assessing maximum employment
11:15-12:30 Panel 2: The Risk of Resurgence - Inflation Outlook in 2025 and Beyond
Chair: Gauti Eggertsson, Professor, Brown University
Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, International Monetary Fund
Governor Lesetja Kganyago, South African Reserve Bank
Thórarinn G. Pétursson, Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy, Central Bank of Iceland
Slides: Thórarinn G. Pétursson
Eric Leeper, Professor, University of Virgina
Slides: Eric Leeper
12:30-13:00 Keynote address and Q&A: Uncertainty and Robust Monetary Policy - This event is live streamed
President John C. Williams, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Q&A moderated by Francine Lacqua, Bloomberg
Full speech: Uncertainty and Robust Monetary Policy
13:00-13:50 Lunch
13:50-14:10 Keynote address: Evolution of China's Monetary Policy Framework
14:10-15:15 Panel 3: Out of the woods? Financial Stability and the Rate Cutting Cycle
Chair: Ricardo Reis, Professor, London School of Economics (LSE)
Governor Gediminas Simkus, Bank of Lithuania
Governor Natia Turnava, National Bank of Georgia
Slides: Natia Turnava
Tómas Brynjólfsson, Deputy Governor for Financial Stability, Central Bank of Iceland
Slides: Tómas Brynjólfsson
15:15- 16:00 Keynote address and Q&A: When Mice can Roar: How to move fast without breaking things - This event is live streamed
Governor Ásgeir Jónsson, Central Bank of Iceland
Full speech: When Mice can Roar: How to move fast without breaking things
Slides: When Mice can Roar: How to move fast without breaking things
Followed by fireside chat with Gauti Eggertsson, Brown University
16:00-17:00 Reception at Harpa Concert and Conference Hall
George-Marios Angeletos, Northwestern University
Andrew Atkeson, UCLA
Governor Andrew Bailey, Bank of England
On 20 December 2019, Andrew Bailey was announced as the new Governor of the Bank of England. He began his term on 16 March 2020.
Andrew Bailey served as Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) from 1 July 2016 until taking up the role of Governor. As CEO of the FCA, Andrew Bailey was also a member of the Prudential Regulation Committee, the Financial Policy Committee, and the Board of the Financial Conduct Authority.
Andrew previously held the role of Deputy Governor, Prudential Regulation and CEO of the PRA from 1 April 2013. While retaining his role as Executive Director of the Bank, Andrew joined the Financial Services Authority in April 2011 as Deputy Head of the Prudential Business Unit and Director of UK Banks and Building Societies. In July 2012, Andrew became Managing Director of the Prudential Business Unit, with responsibility for the prudential supervision of banks, investment banks and insurance companies. Andrew was appointed as a voting member of the interim Financial Policy Committee at its June 2012 meeting.
Previously, Andrew worked at the Bank in a number of areas, most recently as Executive Director for Banking Services and Chief Cashier, as well as Head of the Bank's Special Resolution Unit (SRU). Previous roles include Governor's Private Secretary, and Head of the International Economic Analysis Division in Monetary Analysis.
Governor Michael S. Barr, Federal Reserve Board
Michael S. Barr took office as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on July 19, 2022, for an unexpired term ending January 31, 2032. Mr. Barr served as the Vice Chair for Supervision of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from July 19, 2022, to February 28, 2025.
Prior to his appointment to the Board, Mr. Barr was the Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, the Frank Murphy Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, the Roy F. and Jean Humphrey Proffitt Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School, and the founder and faculty director of the University of Michigan's Center on Finance, Law & Policy. At the University of Michigan Law School, Mr. Barr taught financial regulation and international finance and co-founded the International Transactions Clinic and the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project.
Mr. Barr served as the U.S. Department of the Treasury's assistant secretary for financial institutions, 2009-2010. Under President William J. Clinton, he served as the Treasury Secretary's special assistant, as deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury, as special adviser to the President, and as a special adviser and counselor on the policy planning staff at the U.S. Department of State.
Additionally, Mr. Barr served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter during October Term 1993, and previously to the Honorable Pierre N. Leval, then of the Southern District of New York.
Mr. Barr received a BA in history from Yale University, an MPhil in international relations from Oxford University, and a JD from Yale Law School.
Marco Bassetto, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Marco Bassetto joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis as a senior research economist in 2019. Formerly, he was a senior economist and research advisor in the Economic Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He has also been a professor at University College London and an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota and at Northwestern University. He received a B.A. from Bocconi University (Milan, Italy) and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago.
Marco’s research focuses on applications of game theory to macroeconomics and the design and consistency of macroeconomic policy. His work has been published in a number of top-tier journals, including American Economic Review, Econometrica, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of Political Ecoomy, Journal of Economic Theory, Journal of Monetary Economics, Review of Economic Dynamics, and Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control.
Sigríður Benediktsdóttir, Columbia University
Tómas Brynjólfsson, Deputy Governor for Financial Stability, Central bank of Iceland
Tómas Brynjólfsson was appointed Deputy Governor for Financial Stability in August 2024.
Deputy Governor Brynjólfsson completed a Master’s degree in International Relations from London School of Economics in 2004 and received a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Iceland in 2003 and a BA in International Relations, History, and Economics from the University of Georgia in 2002.
He served as Director General of the Department of Economic Affairs and Financial Services at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs from 2018 – 2024 and was acting Permanent Secretary from January through April 2024.
From 2015 until 2018, he served as Director of the Services, Capital, Persons and Programmes Division at the EFTA offices in Brussels. He was Director General of the Department of Economic Affairs and Financial Services in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs from 2013 until 2015.
A. Craig Burnside, Duke University
Craig Burnside is the Mary Grace Wilson Professor of Economics at Duke University. Burnside’s fields of specialization include macroeconomics and international finance. His recent research focuses on foreign exchange markets, empirical methods in finance, and the behavior of prices in housing markets.
He has published articles in a number of academic journals, including the American Economic Review, the Journal of Political Economy, the Review of Economic Studies, and the Review of Financial Studies.
He is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and was previously a member of the Board of Editors of the American Economic Review (2001-06, 2011-20), Associate Editor for the Review of Economics and Statistics (2012-15), co-editor of the Canadian Journal of Economics (2007-10), and Associate Editor for the Journal of Money Credit and Banking (2003-11).
Deputy Governor Xuan Chaneng, People's Bank of China
Dr. Xuan Changneng was appointed Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) in 2022. He previously served as the Deputy Administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) from 2018 to 2022. Before that, he was an Assistant Chairman at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) from 2016 to 2018. He joined the PBOC in 2008 and served as Director General of Financial Research Institute and then Director General of Financial Stability Bureau until 2016.
Dr. Xuan Changneng received a bachelor's degree from the University of Science and Technology of China, a master's degree in economics and a doctor's degree in finance from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as an LL.M. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Antonio Coppola, Stanford Graduate School of Business
Itamar Drechler, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Gauti B. Eggertsson, Brown University
Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, University of Pennsylvania
Jesús Fernández-Villaverde is currently the Howard Marks Presidential Professor of Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, where he serves as the Director of the Penn Initiative for the Study of Markets and co-director of the Business, Economic, and Financial History Project. He is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford, a visiting scholar at the European Central Bank and Bank of Spain, a fellow at Collegium Institute, a non-resident fellow at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, and a member of the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Center for Economic Policy Research. Additionally, he is a fellow of the Econometric Society.
He is currently serving as editor in chief of the IMF Review.
Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department, International Monetary Fund
Governor Ásgeir Jónsson, Central Bank of Iceland
Ásgeir Jónsson became Governor of the Central Bank of Iceland in August 2019. He previously held the position of Head of Faculty of Economics at the University of Iceland and has extensive experience in the public and the financial sector.
Born in 1970, Governor Jónsson holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Iceland, and a PhD in Economics from Indiana University with main emphasis on monetary policy in open economies, international finance and economic history.
Governor Jónsson has written a number of scholarly papers and books on monetary policy, economic history and economic affairs. He has also written numerous articles for public consumption as well as policy reports. He as worked as an advisor in the public and private sector and steered a number of key policy committees.
Furthermore, he has published two scholarly books abroad on the Icelandic banking crisis of 2008; of its causes, the onfall and the post-crisis reconstruction of the financial sector.
Governor Lesetja Kganyago, South African Reserve Bank
Lesetja Kganyago is the Governor of the South African Reserve Bank. He was first appointed Governor on 9 November 2014 and was reappointed by the President of South Africa for a second five-year term in 2019, with effect from 9 November 2019 to 8 November 2024.
In 2024, the President reappointed Governor Kganyago for a third five-year term, effective from 9 November 2024 to 8 November 2029. Prior to his appointment as Governor, he served as Deputy Governor of the SARB from 16 May 2011 until his elevation to Governor.
Governor Kganyago is the Chairperson of the Monetary Policy Committee, Prudential Committee and Financial Stability Committee. He also chairs the Committee of Central Bank Governors of the Southern African Development Community and the Bank for International Settlements’ Central Bank Governance Group, and co-chairs the Financial Stability Board’s Cross-Border Payments Coordination Group and the Regional Consultative Group for Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, he served as the Chairperson of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, which is the primary advisory board to the International Monetary Fund Board of Governors, from 18 January 2018 to 17 January 2021.
He holds an MSc in Economics from SOAS University of London and a BCom in Economics and Accounting from the University of South Africa. He has also received various training in finance, economics and management.
Daði Már Kristófersson, Iceland's Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs
Governor Signe Krogstrup, Danmarks Nationalbank
Governor Adriana Kugler, Federal Reserve Board
Dr. Adriana D. Kugler took office as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on September 13, 2023, to fill an unexpired term ending January 31, 2026.
Prior to her appointment at the Board, Dr. Kugler served as the U.S. Executive Director at the World Bank Group. She is on leave from Georgetown University where she is a professor of Public Policy and Economics and was vice provost for faculty.
Previously, she served as chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor from 2011 to 2013. Dr. Kugler was also a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and of the Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality at Stanford University.
Dr. Kugler's other professional appointments include being the elected chair of the Business and Economics Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association. She was also a member of the Board on Science, Technology and Economic Policy of the National Academies of Sciences and served on the Technical Advisory Committee of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Dr. Kugler received a BA in economics and political science from McGill University and a PhD in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.
Eric M. Leeper, University of Virginia
Eric Leeper has been the Paul Goodloe McIntire Professor in Economics at the University of Virginia since 2018. He is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, director of the Virginia Center for Economic Policy at UVA, a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and a member of the advisory council of the Center for Quantitative Economic Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He previously served as an external advisor to the Swedish central bank, member of the Research Council of the Bundesbank, and Visiting Scholar at many central banks.
His research focuses on macroeconomic policy, with special emphasis on monetary-fiscal policy interactions. One line of work focuses on the “fiscal theory of the price level,” by which fiscal policy influence economic activity and inflation through new channels. Past research examines the impacts of government spending, the consequences of alternative resolutions to long-run fiscal imbalances, and the modeling of the “fiscal limit” and sovereign risk.
Ellen McGrattan, University of Minnesota
Christina Patterson, University of Chicago
Christina Patterson is an Associate Professor at University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Christina Patterson studies macroeconomics and labor economics, with a focus on how inequality across workers and firms can affect the economy’s response to shocks. Her research has appeared in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, AEJ: Macroeconomics, and European Economic Review.
Additionally, she serves as a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Prior to joining Booth, Patterson was a post-doctoral fellow at Northwestern University.
Patterson earned a PhD in economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and holds a BA in mathematics and economics from Columbia University. Prior to entering academia, Patterson spent time as a research associate at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Goetz von Peter, Bank for International Settlements
Thórarinn G. Pétursson, Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy, Central Bank of Iceland
Thórarinn G. Pétursson was appointed Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy at the Central Bank of Iceland in January 2025.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Pétursson served as the Chief Economist and Head of Economics and Monetary Policy at the Central Bank of Iceland from 2009 and as Head of Research and Forecasting at the Bank from 2002 to 2009. He also served as a member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee from 2009 to 2019. In addition, Mr. Pétursson served as an Assistant Professor at Reykjavík University from 1999 to 2006 and as an Associate Professor from 2006 to 2009. He has published several academic papers on various topics in empirical macroeconomics in professional journals.
Mr. Pétursson has a BS in Economics from University of Iceland, a MS in Economics from Essex University in the UK, and a PhD in Economics from Aarhus University in Denmark.
Governor Irena Radović, Central Bank of Montenegro
Irena Radović is the Governor of the Central Bank of Montenegro, leading efforts in financial stability, regulatory alignment with the EU, and the modernization of payment systems, including Montenegro’s integration into the Single European Payments Area (SEPA). She chairs the National Financial Stability Council and plays an important role in advancing Montenegro’s EU accession across nine negotiation chapters.
A seasoned economist, diplomat, and academic, Irena has a distinguished career spanning central banking, development finance, and international relations. Prior to her governorship, she was the Executive Director of the Investment and Development Fund, spearheading its transformation into a national development bank. As Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, she oversaw banking supervision and financial consumer protection. Earlier, she served as Montenegro’s Ambassador to France and UNESCO, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Head of the British Office, representing the UK Government in Montenegro in the lead-up to the country’s independence.
She has lectured on International Economics and EU Monetary Policy at leading universities and was affiliated with All Souls College at Oxford. Holding degrees from Cambridge, CORIPE, and the University of Montenegro, she combines academic expertise with policy leadership. Fluent in English, French, and Italian, she brings a global perspective to economic and financial reform.
A strong advocate for gender inclusiveness and sustainability in finance, she leads key initiatives promoting financial resilience, inclusion, and corporate leadership diversity. She played a pivotal role in shaping Montenegro’s National Agenda for Women’s Economic Empowerment and launched the Women on Boards programme (2023-2026) in partnership with the EBRD.
Her contributions have earned her France’s Legion of Honour, making her the first and only recipient in Montenegro since its independence, the Sovereign Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Saint Charles from Monaco, and other international distinctions.
Ricardo Reis, London School of Economics
Jane Ryngaert, University of Notre Dame
Deputy Governor Chiara Scotti, Central Bank of Italy
Governor Gediminas Simkus, Bank of Lithuania
Gediminas Šimkus, Chair of the Board of Lietuvos bankas, Member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank
Gediminas Šimkus took office as Chair of the Board of Lietuvos bankas in April 2021. As Chair of the Board, Gediminas Šimkus oversees the areas of monetary policy, economics and organisational management. Before becoming Chair, he was a Member of the Board of Lietuvos bankas and Director of the Economics and Financial Stability Service.
Gediminas Šimkus joined Lietuvos bankas in 2002. For over 20 years he has been working and accumulating experience in various areas of central banking, including the analysis of economic processes and forecasting, ensuring financial stability, shaping and implementation of monetary and macroprudential policies, banking supervision, statistical compilation and dissemination as well as in other areas. His work as a financial stability expert at the European Central Bank in 2010–2012 also added to his experience. Gediminas Šimkus obtained a Master’s degree in Economics from Vilnius University.
Mathias Trabandt, University Frankfurt
Mathias Trabandt is a Professor of Macroeconomics at the Faculty of Economics and Business at Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main.
Mathias Trabandt is a Research Fellow at the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), the CEPR, and an Associate Editor at the Review of Economic Dynamics.
Mathias Trabandt’s research and teaching interests focus on macroeconomics, monetary economics, public economics, labor economics, international macroeconomics, financial frictions, applied econometrics, and epidemics.
His research has been published in e.g. American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, Econometrica, Journal of Applied Econometrics, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Political Economy, IMF Economic Review, European Economic Review, American Economic Review (Papers and Proceedings), Review of Economic Dynamics, Review of Economics and Statistics, Review of Financial Studies, NBER Macroeconomics Annual and Handbook of Monetary Economics.
Before joining Goethe University Frankfurt in 2021, Mathias Trabandt was a Professor at Freie Universität Berlin. Earlier in his career, Mathias Trabandt was Chief of the Global Modeling Studies Section at the International Finance Division of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington D.C. and held positions as an economist at the European Central Bank, Deutsche Bundesbank and Sveriges Riksbank.
Mathias Trabandt received his Ph.D. in Economics from Humboldt University Berlin.
For more information, visit www.mathiastrabandt.com
Governor Natia Turnava, National Bank of Georgia
Mark Watson, Princeton University
President John C. Williams, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
John C. Williams is the president and chief executive officer of the New York Fed. In that capacity, he serves as the vice chair and a permanent voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee.
Before joining the New York Fed in 2018, Mr. Williams was the president and CEO of the San Francisco Fed, which he first joined in 2002 and subsequently served as research director. He began his career as an economist at the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, and he has also served in roles at the White House Council of Economic Advisers and Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.