Impacts, Responses & Initial Lessons of the Financial Crises for Low Income Countries

Call for papers

The Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) will host a conference in Copenhagen, Denmark on October 14 and 15, 2010, on the impacts, responses and lessons of the financial crisis for low income countries.

The conference organizers kindly request scholarly papers that address themes that include, but are not exclusively limited to, the three areas outlined below. Submissions are especially encouraged from researchers based in low income countries. Financial support is available for presenters to attend the conference.

The conference will include a high-level panel discussion concerning the long-run consequences of the crisis for development strategies. Confirmed panel members include: Finn Tarp (Director, UNUWIDER), Jan Kregel (Levy Economics Institute), John Weeks (SOAS, Department of Economics), Richard King (Oxfam GB), Sam Mensah (SEM Financial Group & International Growth Center, Ghana), and Howard Stein (University of Michigan).

THEME 1: CRISIS IMPACTS

Since 2007, low income countries have faced turbulent and adverse external economic conditions. As macroeconomic and microeconomic data now become available, careful empirical documentation of the effects of these trends across different countries, sectors and demographic sub-groups is needed. Relevant questions to address include: have observed changes in macroeconomic indicators been consistent with the predicted effects of the crisis? How vulnerable are low income countries to further economic turbulence (e.g., a “double dip” recession)? What have been the responses of formal and informal labour markets? How have households adjusted livelihood strategies?

THEME 2: CRISIS RESPONSES

The financial crisis provides an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the effectiveness of orthodox and unorthodox social and economic policies. We seek to understand the nature and effectiveness of the different policies low income governments have adopted in reaction to the crisis. In addition, one can reflect on the contribution of bilateral and multilateral donors in assisting low income countries to respond to changes in external conditions.

THEME 3: INITIAL LESSONS

Although the long-run implications of the crisis remain to be seen, some initial lessons may be drawn. What does the crisis tell us about the binding constraints to development in low income countries and the risks associated with different kinds of development strategy (e.g., export-led growth)? Looking forward, and in light of the persistence of severe global imbalances, what kinds of macroeconomic strategies are appropriate for low income countries? How can low income countries best foster policy space and flexibility to respond to future challenges?

AUDIENCE

The conference is open to academics, policymakers, and other researchers in the social sciences.

SUBMISSION PROCEDURE

EITHER extended abstracts (approx. 500 words) OR draft manuscripts should be submitted by 01 June 2010. These should be sent electronically to the conference mailbox: financialcrisis@diis.dk. Each submission should include details of the author – i.e., full name, institutional affiliation, postal address, email and contact telephone.
Authors of accepted manuscripts will be contacted by 30 June 2010 at the latest. Completed papers should then be submitted by 10 September 2010. Final submissions will be published by the Danish Institute for International Studies as working papers (with authors’ permission).

FURTHER INFORMATION

Please address any questions to Martin Højland or Sam Jones at the conference mailbox:

CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS

Nanna Hvidt (Director, DIIS), Peter Gibbon (DIIS), Jakob Vestergard (DIIS) & Sam Jones (University of Copenhagen).

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