21/06/2024 13:21:00

Conference on ‘Competitiveness and Firm Productivity in a Disintegrating Global Economy’ held at the Central Bank of Malta

The Central Bank of Malta (CBM) together with the National Statistics Office (NSO), the Competitiveness Research Network (CompNet), the Halle Institute of Economic Research (IWH) and the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) co-hosted a conference entitled 'Competitiveness and Firm Productivity in a Disintegrating Global Economy', held on Thursday 20th and Friday 21st June 2024 at the Central Bank of Malta in Valletta.

This conference consisted of a number of sessions which explored the factors affecting competitiveness focusing on how issues related to geopolitical tensions and conflicts can have important repercussions on firm dynamism, resilience and productivity, competitiveness and employment. Enhancing EU Competitiveness has been identified by the EU Commission as a major objective of the Union going forward.

The conference was addressed by the Governor of the Central Bank of Malta, Professor Edward Scicluna. In his opening statement, Professor Scicluna stated, "the conference topics are not only pivotal for today's economic and business strategies, but are a crucial determinant of our collective economic future, especially as we navigate the complexities of a global economy that is increasingly fragmented". The Chairman of CompNet, Filippo di Mauro emphasized the necessity of strengthening the Micro-Data Infrastructure (MDI) in Europe to enable precise cross-country analysis related to competiveness.

Within this context, Professor Eric Bartelsman, Professor of Economics at the Vrije Universiteit has introduced the MDI, an innovative tool developed by CompNet. This tool allows researchers and policymakers to conduct specialized analyses on harmonized, highly granular data, thereby advancing the precision and depth of economic research.

The keynote speech was delivered by Gianmarco Ottaviano, Professor of Economics at Bocconi University who reassessed and discussed the technological origins of the EU's comparative advantage, leveraging on a new methodology applied to the CompNet dataset.

The conference also featured a panel discussion chaired by the Chairman of CompNet, Filippo di Mauro, entitled 'Fostering the European Competitiveness'. The panellists included Filiz Unsal, Head of Structural Policy Analysis and Research of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Pilar Castrillo, Head of Economic and Market Analysis at the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Debora Revoltella, Chief Economist of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Reint Gropp, President of IWH.

Photo: Melvin Bugeja 

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