Welcome

The European Economic Advisory Group (EEAG) was founded in 2001. Supported by Ifo's research staff, it provides an annual report on the European economy including a growth forecast as well as other topical European themes.

The Group consists of seven internationally known economists from seven European countries, chaired by Jan-Egbert Sturm (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich). It includes Giancarlo Corsetti (University of Cambridge), Michael P. Devereux (University of Oxford), John Hassler (Stockholm University), Gilles Saint-Paul (University of Toulouse), Hans-Werner Sinn (Ifo Institute for Economic Research and University of Munich) and Xavier Vives (IESE Business School).

For the very first time the EEAG Report was presented in Switzerland at the Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue during a session chaired by Prof. em. Niklaus Blattner. The presentations by Prof. Jan-Egbert Sturm and Prof. Michael P. Devereux focused on two topics of interest for Switzerland, the macro-economic outlook and its implications for the Swiss economy and taxation and regulation of the financial services sector after the financial crisis.

Participation in this event was by invitation only.

Agenda

16.00	Registration & welcome coffee
16.30	Welcome Stephan Schreckenberg, Head Research Relations, Swiss Re Centre for Global Dialogue
16.35	Introduction Prof. em Niklaus Blattner, Chairman of the Investment Advisory Board of the University of Basel, former Vice Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank
16.45	Macroeconomic outlook and implications for the Swiss economy - To what extent has the economy really recovered and have underlying structural problems been solved? - How could the European financial regulatory system be reformed to circumvent or at least mitigate the effects of future debt crises? - How quickly will labour markets be able to return to pre-crisis employment levels? Prof. Jan-Egbert Sturm, ETH Zurich, KOF Swiss Economic Institute
17.05	Taxation and regulation of the Financial Sector after the crisis - Generation of revenue as reimbursement for the costs of the crisis - Reduction of the probability of default in individual banks or other financial institutions - Reduction of the cost of negative externalities if banks or other systemically important institutions should fail Prof. Michael P. Devereux , Centre for Business Taxation, Said Business School, University of Oxford
17.25	Moderated discussion and open Q&A Chair: Prof. em. Niklaus Blattner Panellists: Prof. Michael Devereux, Prof. Jan-Egbert Sturm
18.00	Apero

Speakers

	Niklaus Blattner Prof. em. for Economics, University of Basel, former Vice Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank Niklaus Blattner was born in 1943 in Basel (Switzerland), is married and father of two daughters. Academic studies of Economics at the University of Basel, Dr.rer.pol. (1970). Further steps: Economist at Ciba-Geigy AG, Basel (1970-71), Senior Research Fellow, University of Manchester, Institute of Science and Technology, Manchester, England (1971-72), Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Applied Economics, University of Basel (1972-76), Habilitation for economics, University of Basel (1976), Head of Economics Services, Federal Office for Industry and Labour, Bern (1976-87), promotion to Associate Professor of Economics, University of Basel (1979), Founder and Head of the Labour and Industrial Economics Research Unit, University of Basel (1979-97), Member (1987-98) and Chairman of the Executive Committee and Delegate of the Board of the Swiss Bankers Association, Basel (1998-2000), Member (2001-03) and Vice Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, Zürich and Bern (2003-07). Since May 2007 Blattner’s professional activity concentrates on analysing economic policy developments and publishing comments. Since January 2010 Blattner is Chairman of the Investment Advisory Board of the University of Basel. Read more
	Michael P. Devereux Centre for Business Taxation, Said Business School, University of Oxford (PhD University College London, 1990) is Professor of the University of Oxford, Director of the Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation and Research Director of the European Tax Policy Forum and Vice-President of the International Institute of Public Finance. He is a Research Fellow of CESifo, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Centre for Economic Policy Research. Before moving to Oxford, he was Professor and Chair of Economics Departments at the Universities of Warwick and Keele. He has been closely involved in international tax policy issues in Europe and elsewhere, working with the OECD’s Committee of Fiscal Affairs, the European Commission and the IMF. His current research interests are mainly concerned with the impact of different forms of taxation on the behaviour of business – for example, the impact of taxation on corporate investment and financial policy and the location decisions of multinationals – and the impact of such behaviour on economic welfare. He has published widely in a range of academic journals. Read more
	Jan-Egbert Sturm KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich (Ph.D. University of Groningen, 1997) is Professor of Applied Macroeconomics, Director of the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at the ETH Zurich and President of the Centre for International Research on Economic Tendency Surveys (CIRET). He was researcher at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, until 2001, and taught as Visiting Professor at the School of Business, Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia, 2000 and 2005. As Head of the Department for Economic Forecasting and Financial Markets at the Ifo Institute for Economic Research, he was also Professor of Economics at the University of Munich (LMU) at the Center for Economic Studies (CES), 2001–2003. He held the Chair of Monetary Economics in Open Economies at the University of Konstanz, Germany, which was coupled with the position of Director of the Thurgau Institute of Economics (TWI) in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, 2003–2005. In his research, Jan-Egbert Sturm relies heavily on empirical methods and statistics, concentrating on monetary economics, macroeconomics as well as political economy. His applied studies have focused on, for example, economic growth and central bank policy. He has published several books, contributed articles to various anthologies and international journals like Applied Economics, Economics & Politics, European Economic Review, European Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Macroeconomics, Kyklos, Oxford Economic Papers, Public Choice, and the Scandinavian Journal of Economics. Jan-Egbert Sturm headed the Ifo research team at the Joint Analysis of the Six Leading German Economic Research Institutes, 2001–2003. Since 2001 he has been member of the CESifo Research Network and since 2003 Research Professor at the Ifo Institute. In 2006 he was appointed member of the User Advisory Council of the Ifo Institute. Links http://www.kof.ethz.ch/ Read more

Niklaus Blattner

Prof. em. for Economics, University of Basel, former Vice Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank

Michael P. Devereux

Centre for Business Taxation, Said Business School, University of Oxford

Jan-Egbert Sturm

KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich

(Ph.D. University of Groningen, 1997) is Professor of Applied Macroeconomics, Director of the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at the ETH Zurich and President of the Centre for International Research on Economic Tendency Surveys (CIRET). He was researcher at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, until 2001, and taught as Visiting Professor at the School of Business, Bond University, Gold Coast, Australia, 2000 and 2005. As Head of the Department for Economic Forecasting and Financial Markets at the Ifo Institute for Economic Research, he was also Professor of Economics at the University of Munich (LMU) at the Center for Economic Studies (CES), 2001–2003. He held the Chair of Monetary Economics in Open Economies at the University of Konstanz, Germany, which was coupled with the position of Director of the Thurgau Institute of Economics (TWI) in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, 2003–2005.

In his research, Jan-Egbert Sturm relies heavily on empirical methods and statistics, concentrating on monetary economics, macroeconomics as well as political economy. His applied studies have focused on, for example, economic growth and central bank policy. He has published several books, contributed articles to various anthologies and international journals like Applied Economics, Economics & Politics, European Economic Review, European Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Macroeconomics, Kyklos, Oxford Economic Papers, Public Choice, and the Scandinavian Journal of Economics. Jan-Egbert Sturm headed the Ifo research team at the Joint Analysis of the Six Leading German Economic Research Institutes, 2001–2003. Since 2001 he has been member of the CESifo Research Network and since 2003 Research Professor at the Ifo Institute. In 2006 he was appointed member of the User Advisory Council of the Ifo Institute.