The Fifth ICEF Conference on Applied Economics
Scholars in the field presented their latest research and provided extensive comments on each other’s work.
Among our invited speakers were such scholars as Ekaterina Kazakova (FES, HSE), Alexander Muraviev (HSE St.Petersburg, IZA), Evgeny Yakovlev (NES), Gerhard Toews (NES), Irina Denisova (NES, MSU).
The organizing committee of the conference consisted of Prof. Fabian Slonimczyk (chair, ICEF), Prof. Maxim Nikitin (ICEF), Prof. Markus Gebauer (ICEF).
Prof. Fabian Slonimczyk, ICEF, chair of the organizing committee of the conference
Since its very inception, economics as a discipline has been concerned with how to best govern a modern society. What policies are optimal? What works and what doesn't? Economic theories and models give us a general framework to think about these issues. But in the end, the answer has to come from an analysis of facts and data. That is exactly what applied economists do. They arm themselves with models and statistics and look at data to try to answer important questions that impact people's lives.
ICEF has now successfully organized five editions of the Conference in Applied Economics. This year's conference has continued the tradition of providing a venue to high-caliber applied economists to present their work in a format that allows for high-quality feedback and constructive exchanges of opinion. Every presenter had 40 minutes (substantially more time than in regular conferences) to go through the main contributions in their papers. And each presentation was followed by a 10-minute presentation by a discussant, ensuring that each paper was discussed in depth. There was also plenty of time for informal exchanges and friendly discussions during the coffee breaks and during dinner. In summary, this was academia at its very best!
I want to extend a heart-felt thank you to all the people involved. My two co-organizers: Maxim Nikitin and Markus Gebauer. The presenters and discussants. The many students that came to listen to the presentations. And of course also to ICEF and HSE for their continued support for the event.