The 2023 International Francqui Chair in Macroeconomics

The UNamur, in collaboration with three partner institutions (KULeuven, UAntwerp and Ghent University) was awarded the prestigious International Francqui Professor Award 2021-2022.

Professor Karel Mertens will stay at the Faculty of Economics, Social Sciences and management (FSESG) from 1 April 2023 until 30 June 2023. He will join our institution to work on the following topics: "Causal Inference in Macroeconomics" and "Redistributive Effects of Fiscal Policy and Taxation".

Karel Mertens is Senior Economic Policy Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (FRBD), where he plays a leading role in the Research Department. He has worked on the topic of causal inference in macroeconomics, i.e. the art of distinguishing between cause and effect in macroeconomics. His research has helped in understanding the macroeconomic and redistributive effects of fiscal policy, and specifically taxation, on the effects of credit policy as well as monetary policy.  He has also produced an indicator that makes it possible to measure economic activity more accurately in the United States on a weekly basis.

Karel Mertens is a renowned researcher who has done outstanding work in his field. He has published in several leading economic journals, such as the Quarterly Journal of Economics, American Economic Review, the Review of Economic Studies, the Journal of Monetary Economics, and the Economic Journal. He is a research fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research, and an associate editor of the American Economic Review.


18 April 2023 | Inaugural lecture-Medal of the International Francqui Chair


 

 


April-May 2023 | Class of excellence


  • Namur
    • Title: A New Look at the Inflation-Unemployment Trade-off in the U.S.
    • Date: 25/04/2023
    • Time: 16:00
    • Room: Camille Joset, 401, 4rd floor (Rempart de la Vierge 8, Namur)
    • Organizer: Prof. Romain Houssa (Romain.Houssa@unamur.be)
  • Gent
    • Title: The Returns to Government R&D: Evidence from U.S. Appropriations Shocks
    • Date: 27/04/2023
    • Time: 11:30
    • Room: Faculty council meeting room (Tweekerkenstraat 2, Gent)
    • Organizer: Prof. Gert Peersman (Gert.Peersman@UGent.be)
  • Leuven 
    • Title: A Robust Test for Weak Instruments with Multiple Endogenous Regressors
    • Date: 10/05/2023
    • Time: 14:00
    • Room: De Valk 3 (DV3) 01.19 (Tiensestraat 41, Leuven)
    • Organizer: Prof. Ferre De Graeve (Ferre.Degraeve@kuleuven.be)
  • Antwerp
    • Title: The Returns to Government R&D: Evidence from U.S. Appropriations Shocks
    • Date:  11/05/2023
    • Time: 13:00
    • Room: Room 001 (City Campus, Prinsstraat 13, Building C)
    • Organizer: Prof. Jan Bouckaert (Jan.Bouckaert@uantwerpen.be)

More info coming soon...


8-9 May 2023 | International Symposium


BNB | National Bank of Belgium, auditorium - room A, rue Montagne aux Herbes Potagères 61, 1000 Brussels.

Confirmed international speakers

 


Organizers


  • Jan Bouckaert (UAntwerp)
  • Ferre De Graeve (KU Leuven)
  • Romain Houssa (UNamur)
  • Leonardo Iania (UCLouvain)
  • Gert Peersman (UGent)
  • Raf Wouters (NBB)