Call for papers: 4th WB-BE Research Conference

Labor Markets: Growth, Productivity and Inequality

Banco de España
Madrid, June 16 and 17, 2016

Call for papers: Deadline April 3, 2016

You are invited to submit a paper for the upcoming conference on “Labor Markets: Growth, Productivity and Inequality.” The conference, sponsored by Banco de España and The World Bank, will take place at the Banco de España headquarters in Madrid, on June 16 and 17, 2016. The goal of the conference is to bring together academics and policy makers to discuss labor markets dynamics and their relation with growth. Drawing on state-of-the-art economic research, we are looking for new evidence on the labor market responses to macroeconomic and policy changes after the Great Recession, and on how employment levels and wages are likely to react to different labor market programs and policies. We are particularly interested in papers that assess the interplay between labor market structure and rigidities and the response to business cycle fluctuations, as well as papers that provide new evidence on the effects of demand and supply side changes on employment, wages, and inequality. We are also interested in papers that discuss how different policies are likely to affect employment quality, labor productivity and growth. The geographical scope of the conference is global, but special consideration will be given to papers on emerging markets broadly and Latin America in particular.

The conference is open to both theoretical and empirical analyses. It will feature around 10 papers, a policy panel, and a keynote speech by David Card (University of California, Berkeley). The topics of the conference include, but are not limited to:

*         Labor market responses to macroeconomic and policy changes: structure of labor markets, downward wage rigidities, the institutional environment and (financial and labor) markets imperfections

*         Human capital and skills: measurement issues and the dynamics of labor supply, links between skills and productivity, labor market segmentation
*         Job loss: dynamics, effects on earnings, hours and income, and policy responses
*         Polarization of the employment and wages? Reasons and implications

*         Wage inequality: dynamics, transmission mechanisms of business cycle changes, role of asymmetries in the labor markets, and educational boom versus labor demand changes

*   Labor market responses to international trade, technological change and migration

*         Effects of programs and policies to boost quality employment: training programs and vocational education, welfare payments, pension systems and labor market participation

If you would like to submit a paper, please send a draft (extended abstracts accepted) in pdf or word format by email stating in the subject: “2016 WB-BE Conference” to eventos_internacional@bde.es<mailto:eventos_internacional@bde.es>. The deadline is April 3, 2016. Authors of the selected papers will be informed by April, 18th; the final program of the conference will be published by April, 30th.

The papers to be presented will be selected by a program committee formed by: Tito Cordella (WB), Juan J. Dolado (EUI), Ángel Estrada (BE), Joana Silva (WB), Javier Vallés (BE), Eric Verhoogen (CU), and Ernesto Villanueva (BE)
The organizers will cover travel and accommodation expenses for presenters and discussants.
Sincerely,
The Organizing Committee:

Tito Cordella (WB), Ángel Estrada (BE), Joana Silva (WB), and Javier Vallés (BE)

Links to the previous WB-BE Research Conferences:
Financing growth: Levers, Boosters and Brakes (2014)
Debt and credit, growth and crises (2012)
Financial globalization: Shifting balances (2010)