BANK OF ALBANIA

PRESS RELEASE
Bank of Albania organises the 14th SEE Economic Research Workshop

Publication date: 10.12.2020

 

On 10-11 December 2020, the Bank of Albania organizes the 14th SEE Economic Research Workshop. This workshop aims at providing a discussion forum on the research works and projects conducted at the Bank of Albania throughout 2020. In addition, it promotes the exchange of views among researchers from the Bank of Albania, other central bankers, academia, scholars and policy-makers in the region and beyond, on the results of scientific research on issues related to the activity of central banks.

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The research in the area of monetary policy, financial stability and banking supervision has always dominated the topics of our workshop. This year, Covid-19 becomes an integrated part of the studies of this workshop.   The presented papers discuss on the size and nature of negative effects of the pandemic on the economy and its impact on the central banks’ policies.  During the two-day proceedings, 23 research works will be presented, of which 11 from Bank of Albania researchers.

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The Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr Gent Sejko opened the workshop proceedings. He pointed out that that the selected papers, this year, focus on the practical issues that are crucial for the policy formulation and decision making in the central bank.

In his speech, He added that these works serve as the foundation for the understanding of economic and financial phenomena and the interaction of our monetary, macro and micro prudential policies with the economy.  It is due to this understanding and knowledge that the Bank of Albania crafts its policy response and choses its policy instruments to respond to significant negative shocks that have hit our economy.

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The Governor highlighted that authorities are feeling the difficulty of performing their task. In this respect central banks have lost the traditional instruments of monetary policy and are reverting to money as the instrument of monetary policy.  Central banks, in the region and beyond, using support of research analysis and conclusions are under process of reviewing their objectives and monetary policy, eventually rewriting monetary economics as a new instrument.

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In the presence of current constrains, the central bank should react and find new ways to supporting the economy In this context,  the Governor invited research to guide policy reviews and policy models for sustainable economic policies that can promote growth in the presence of stable prices and financial system.

In conclusion, Governor Sejko thanked the attendees for their participation, stating that their contribution serves to improve the work and conclusions of scientific research, hence making them more valuable to our institutions, particularly in this unprecedented time caused by Covid-19 pandemic.