On April 27th, the Oxford Martin School and the Center hosted a conference, The Future of Europe: Drivers of Change, at Oxford University. Convened by Oxford Martin School director Ian Goldin, Center director Edmund Phelps, and David Vines (Balliol College and acting director of the program on the Political Economy of Financial Markets), the conference explored the long-term economic and social challenges that Europe faces, such as the decline of both productivity growth and the rewards of working life.
The conference consisted of three sessions. The first provided global context for the day, summarizing and analyzing economic, demographic, technological, and geopolitical trends that will shape Europe's future. The second session examined the underlying forces influencing productivity growth and the various rewards of working life in Europe, with a focus on examining the evidence regarding the force of innovation in Europe and considering the cause and potential consequences of the current predicament. The third session examined the long-term implications of the evolution of Europe's ageing population for public and private pension provision, for capital markets, and for taxation and saving. Participants included Peter Jungen, Saifedean Ammous, Raicho Bojilov, Saskia Sassen, Juan Sola, Gylfi Zoega, David P. Goldman, Jean-Luc Schneider, Adam Bennett, John Muellbauer, Kalypso Nicolaidis, Paul Seabright, Eric Bartelsman, Ashok Gupta, Wolfgang Munchau, Colin Mayer, Andre Sapir, and Christian Thimann.
Agenda
Europe and the World towards 2030
Chair: Professor Ian Goldin, Oxford Martin School
Professor Goldin
Mr. Jean-Luc Schneider, OECD
Discussants: Mr. Wolfgang Munchau, Financial Times and Professor Andre Sapir, Bruegel
Innovation in Europe -- Facts, Causes, and Consequences
Chair: Professor David Vines, Economics Department and Balliol College
FACTS: Professor Raicho Bojilov, Ecole Polytechnique
Discussant: Professor Eric Bartlesman, Vrije University, Amsterdam
CAUSES: Professor Gylfi Zoega, University of Iceland; Birkbeck College, University of London and Professor Saifedean Ammous, Lebanese American University
CONSEQUENCES: Professor Edmund Phelps, Columbia University (an edited version of Phelps's remarks is available here)
Discussant: Mr. David P. Goldman, Asia Times (an edited version of Goldman's remarks is available here)
Capital Markets, Ageing, and Pensions
Chair: Mr. Adam Bennett, St. Antony's College
Dr. Christian Thimann, AXA
Mr. Ashok Gupta, Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association
Discussants: Professor John Muellbauer, INET at Oxford and Professor Colin Mayer, Said Business School
The Future of Europe -- Roundtable Discussion
Chair: Professor Kalypso Nicolaidis, St. Antony's College
Mr. Peter Jungen, Peter Jungen Holding GmBH
Professor Juan Sola, University of Buenos Aires
Professor Saskia Sassen, Columbia University
Professor Paul Seabright, Toulouse School of Economics