YSI @ Monetary Policy and Income Distribution Conference

IMPORTANT: we are re-opening the applications for this event. Those who already applied before do not need to re-apply.

The 2008 subprime crisis forced Central Banks to lower interest rates to zero in an attempt to stimulate an economic recovery. This tool was quickly exhausted, and the authorities have since then turned to the longer-term rates, through purchases of an array of assets, like Treasury securities, agency debt and mortgage-backed securities, a movement that has been dubbed Unconventional Monetary Policy (UMP). This change in the policy stance has raised many concerns. The first was the possibility of inflationary pressures originating from the big expansion in Central Banks’ balance sheets. The second relates to the distributional consequences of the new procedures since the reduction in long-term interest rates is the flip side of an increase in assets’ prices. Financial assets are mainly held by rich individuals, and therefore an increase in their prices can be regarded as a wealth distribution policy. Today, the "unconventional" policies are becoming ever more "conventional", specially due to the current COVID crisis. Therefore, it can be regarded as a permanent incomes policy.

Against this background, the workshop Monetary Policy and Income Distribution attempts to bring together academics and policymakers to discuss the relationship between monetary policy and income distribution. In particular, it will investigate the various ways in which monetary policy affects income distribution, through its various channels, both in the short run and the longer run. The workshop will be held in Toronto, Canada, in September 14-16, 2022, COVID-permitting. We will have a YSI pre-event on September 14th in which top-notch scholars will present their views to the young scholars., followed by the main conference on September 15th and 16th, when the students will present their work.

We will select up to 4 young scholars to present their papers in the main conference. Prior to the main event, a special YSI workshop will be hosted by the Keynesian Economics working group during which these issues will be discussed in a smaller group format.

All applicants must fill the following application form by April 15th, 2022. Contributions on the following topics are welcome:
1) Impact of monetary policy on personal income distribution;
2) Impact of monetary policy on factor income shares;
3) Impact of monetary policy on productivity and income distribution;
4) Impact of monetary policy on wealth distribution;
5) Impact of monetary policy on income distribution and gender;
6) Impact of monetary policy on income distribution and racialized minorities;
7) Impact of monetary policy on income distribution in developing countries;
8) Impact of monetary policy on income distribution and structural change;
9) Impact of monetary policy on financialization;
10) Monetary policy, income distribution and secular stagnation;
11) Monetary policy, inequality, and social responsibility of central banks.

YSI application form: https://forms.gle/9Ev1qTQoYkzJsNNb8
Main event webpage: http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/activities/22-23/monetary-policy

YSI will offer accommodation and partial travel support for selected candidates. Decisions will be made by the end of May and will be based on clarity, relevance and originality of abstracts outlining the research question, method and (preliminary) results. In case of acceptance, full papers, including an abstract of max. 200 words are due by August 15th, 2022.

Questions regarding this event may be sent to the organizers through the following email: kewg@youngscholarsinitiative.org