"The Rebalancing Challenge in Europe – Perspectives for CESEE"

Is higher unemployment an inevitable consequence for countries under stress that wish to improve their competitiveness? Is economic growth only possible on the back of income divergence? Can private and public balances be repaired simultaneously?

These questions will be discussed at the Conference on European Economic Integration (CEEI) 2014 of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) on November 24 and 25, 2014, at the Vienna Marriott Hotel. The conference, entitled “The Rebalancing Challenge in Europe – Perspectives for CESEE,” will examine the multiple challenges of potentially conflicting rebalancing processes in the private, public and external sectors, with a special focus on Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE).

While significant progress has been made with the repair of banks’ balance sheets, issues like private and corporate sector deleveraging and the resulting investment gap as well as slow economic growth still remain unsolved. Moreover, the simultaneous rebalancing across countries and sectors proves to be rather difficult. At the CEEI 2014, renowned speakers will analyze the possibilities and limitations of monetary, fiscal and structural policies in internal and external rebalancing processes in Europe.

The CEEI 2014 will be hosted by OeNB Governor Ewald Nowotny. A number of high-level CESEE central bank representatives will contribute to the conference, e.g. Marek Belka (Poland), Miroslav Singer (Czech Republic), Daniel Dăianu (Romania), Nikola Fabris (Montenegro) and Raimondas Kuodis (Lithuania). Sir Suma Chakrabarti (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), J. Bradford DeLong (University of California, Berkeley) and Lucrezia Reichlin (London Business School) will deliver keynote lectures.