Welcome
Welcome to the 20th World Congress of the International Economic Association in Medellin, Colombia. Our previous Congress was meant to be held in Bali, Indonesia in July 2020 – but alas the pandemic made an in-person meeting impossible and we had to hold the Congress virtually. It is great to have the World Congress in person again.
The IEA World Congress is one of the largest gatherings of its kind and brings economists from all over the world to discuss their research and policy issues of mutual concern and to address and debate the big economic and policy challenges of our time. This Congress’ theme “World Economy at a Turning Point? Conflict, Fragmentation, and Divergence” reflects the unusual and difficult times we are in. More than at any time in recent memory, established practices in various domains of the economy – in trade, climate transition, public health, growth and development, technology, equity and social inclusion – are being reconsidered and reshaped against a new geopolitical context of rising tensions among major powers. We have a rich program of panels, keynote speakers, invited and contributed sessions that we hope will do justice to these challenges.
The IEA is a unique organization in that it represents the global economics profession in all its diversity. Since the last Congress, we are proud to have launched a number of new activities. We have recently launched the Women in Leadership in Economics (IEA-WE) initiative, with generous support from the Co-Impact and Open Society Foundations. The initiative will be featured in a special session of the Congress. We have convened a number of working groups on “World Economy”, “Technology, Jobs, and Development”, and “Dealing with Debt”. And we are happy to welcome the following new members of the IEA to the Congress: African Economic Research Consortium, Centre for International Governance Innovation, East Asian Economic Association, Economic Research Forum, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, Economic Society of Singapore, Ethiopian Economics Association, International Association for Feminist Economics, Latin American Association of Environmental and Resource Economists Royal Economic Society, Scottish Economic Society, Sociedad de Economía de Chile, and Society for the Analysis of Government and Economics.
We are grateful to the members of the Program Committee for their tireless work in the selection of papers and organization of sessions. For their financial contributions, we thank the sponsors of the Congress: Americanino, Ashmore, Astor, Banco de la República Colombia, Bancolombia, CAF Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina y el Caribe, Cámara de Comercio de Medellin para Antioquia, Canal RCN, CELSIA, Comfama, Consejo Nacional Profesional de Economía, Corfi Colombia, DIAGEO, Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (ERIA), FINAGRO, FLAR Fondo Latinoamericano de Reservas, Fogafín, Global Education es Futuro, Grupo Argos fundación, Grupo Éxito, Interamerican Development Bank (IDB), IPA Innovations for Poverty Action, ISA Conexiones que inspiran, LR La República, MUMA, Nandan Nilekani, NEWO, Nutresa Un futuro entre todos, Portafolio, Postobón, Proantioquia, Procolombia, Promigas, Protección, SURA Asset Management, The World Bank, UNAULA Universisas Autónoma Latinoamericana, Universidad de Medellín, Universidad ICESI, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, XM Sumamos energía, sumamos pasión. Andrea Cavallo, the IEA’s manager, has played a pivotal role throughout and it is no exaggeration to say that the Congress would not have been possible without her important work. Last but certainly not least, we are deeply thankful to Universidad EAFIT and César Tamayo and Claudia Restrepo Montoya who offered to host this Congress in Medellín and have been our partners in the organization of the event. It was a pleasure for us to work will all these collaborators.
The next World Congress is scheduled for 2026 when we look forward to welcoming you back when Elhanan Helpman will be taking over as President. We wish you an enjoyable and intellectually rewarding Congress.
