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Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics 2019 Multilateralism: Past, Present, and Future

June 17-18, 2019

Washington, DC

Bretton Woods Conference
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  • The Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE), organized by the World Bank’s Development Economics (DEC) Vice Presidency, is one of the world's best-known series of conferences for the presentation and discussion of new knowledge on development. The conference aims to promote the exchange of cutting-edge knowledge among researchers, policymakers, and development practitioners.

    The next conference will take place on June 17–18, 2019 at World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The theme of the conference will be "Multilateralism: Past, Present, and Future”. The 2019 ABCDE conference will be part of a series of events scheduled to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Bretton Woods conference.

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    Scott Barrett

    Vice Dean, School of International and Public Affairs and Professor of Natural Resource Economics, Columbia University

    Scott Barrett is a leading scholar on transnational and global challenges, ranging from climate change to disease eradication. His research focuses on how institutions like customary law and treaties can be used to promote international cooperation.He has advised a number of international organizations, including the United Nations, the World Bank, the OECD, the European Commission, and the International Task Force on Global Public Goods. He was previously a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and a member of the Academic Panel to the Department of Environment in the UK.

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    Dani Rodrik

    Dani Rodrik

    Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy, Harvard University

    Dani Rodrik is an economist whose research covers globalization, economic growth and development, and political economy. He is the Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He was previously the Albert O. Hirschman Professor in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (2013–2015).

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    Benn Steil

    Benn Steil

    Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations

    Benn Steil is senior fellow and director of international economics, as well as the official historian in residence, at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He is also the founding editor of International Finance, a scholarly economics journal; lead writer of the Council’s Geo-Graphics economics blog; and creator of four web-based interactives tracking Global Monetary Policy, Global Imbalances, Sovereign Risk, and Central Bank Currency Swaps. Prior to his joining the Council in 1999, he was director of the International Economics Programme at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London. Steil most recent book, The Marshall Plan: Dawn of the Cold War, won the New-York Historical Society’s 2019 Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize for best work in American history, won the American Academy of Diplomacy’s 2018 Douglas Dillon Book Prize, and was shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize in literary nonfiction. His previous book, The Battle of Bretton Woods: John Maynard Keynes, Harry Dexter White, and the Making of a New World Order, won the 2013 Spear’s Book Award in Financial History, took third prize in CFR’s 2014 Arthur Ross Book Award competition, was shortlisted for the 2014 Lionel Gelber Prize (“the world’s most important prize for non-fiction.” An earlier book, Money, Markets, and Sovereignty won the 2010 Hayek Book Prize. He received his MPhil and DPhil (PhD) in economics at Nuffield College, Oxford. He also holds a BSc in economics summa cum laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

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    Ngaire Woods

    Ngaire Woods

    Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government and Professor of Global Economic Governance, Oxford University

    Ngaire Woods research focuses on how to enhance the governance of organizations, the challenges of globalization, global development, and the role of international institutions and global economic governance. Previously, she founded the Global Economic Governance Programme at Oxford University and co-founded (with Robert O. Keohane) the Oxford-Princeton Global Leaders Fellowship programme. She led the creation of the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University. Ngaire Woods’ books include: The Politics of Global Regulation (with Walter Mattli, Oxford University Press, 2009), Networks of Influence? Developing Countries in a Networked Global Order (with Leonardo Martinez-Diaz, Oxford University Press, 2009), The Globalizers: the IMF, the World Bank and their Borrowers (Cornell University Press, 2006), Exporting Good Governance: Temptations and Challenges in Canada’s Aid Program (with Jennifer Welsh, Laurier University Press, 2007), and Making Self-Regulation Effective in Developing Countries (with Dana Brown, Oxford University Press, 2007). She has previously published The Political Economy of Globalization (Macmillan, 2000), Inequality, Globalization and World Politics (with Andrew Hurrell: Oxford University Press, 1999), Explaining International Relations since 1945 (Oxford University Press, 1986), and numerous articles on international institutions, globalization, and governance.

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  • DOWNLOAD AGENDA (pdf) 

    Monday, June 17, 2019

     Preston Auditorium
    08:00–09:00Registration and Breakfast
    09:00–09:15Welcome Remarks
    Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg     (Chief Economist, World Bank Group)
    09:15–09:30Opening Remarks
    David Malpass     (President, World Bank Group)
    09:30–10:30

    Keynote Address 1: “Strategic Rivalry and the Future of the World Bank”

    Chair: Shanta Devarajan (Senior Director, Development Economics, World Bank)

    Speaker: Ngaire Woods (Oxford University, United Kingdom)

    10:30–11:00Coffee

    Sessions 1A-1C

    11:00–12:30

    Session 1A: Cross-Border Cooperation and Coordination: Capital Flows and Macro Policies 

    Room MC7-100

    Chair: Claudia Ruiz Ortega (World Bank)

     

    “Cross-border Cooperation between Securities Regulators”
    Roger Silvers (University of Utah, United States)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

     

    “Macroprudential Policy Spillovers and International Banking: Taking the Gravity Approach”
    Anni Norring     (Bank of Finland and University of Helsinki, Finland)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

     

    “International Coordination of Macro-Prudential and Monetary Policies”
    Enisse Kharroubi (Bank for International Settlements, Switzerland)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

    Discussant: Mario Guadamillas (World Bank)

     

    Session 1B: Spillovers in Infrastructure: Do They Matter? 

    Room MC 8-100 

    Chair: Michael Toman (World Bank)

     

    “Connective Financing: Chinese Infrastructure Projects and the Diffusion of Economic Activity in Developing Countries”
    Richard Bluhm (Leibniz University Hannover, Germany), Axel Dreher (Heidelberg University, United States), Andreas Fuchs (Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg and Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Germany), Bradley Parks (AidData, College of William and Mary, United States), Austin Strange (Harvard University, United States), and Michael Tierney (College of William and Mary, United States)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

     

    “Common Transport Infrastructure: A Quantitative Model and Estimates from the Belt and Road Initiative”
    François de Soyres (World Bank), Alen Mulabdic (World Bank), and Michele Ruta (World Bank)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

    Discussant: Vivien Foster (World Bank)

     

    Session 1C: Multilateralism: Governance and the Gold Puzzle 

    Room MC 9-100

    Chair: Marilou Uy (G-24 Secretariat)

     

    “Rearranging Deckchairs or Changing Course? The World Bank and Global Public Goods”
    Dominik Kopinski (University of Wroclaw, Poland)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

     

    “Memory and the International Monetary System: Can Old Habits Explain the Bretton Woods ‘Gold Puzzle’?”
    Eric Monnet (Bank of France, France) and Damien Puy (International Monetary Fund)

    DOWNLOAD: Presentation

    12:30–12:45Light Lunch | Preston Lounge
     Preston Auditorium
    12:45–13:45

    Historian Talk: Bretton Woods @75

    Opening Remarks: Elisa Liberatori-Prati (World Bank)

    Speakers: Devesh Kapur (John Hopkins University, United States) and Benn Steil (Council on Foreign Relations, United States)

    14:00–15:00

    Keynote Address 2: “Multilateral Supply of Global Public Goods: Success, Failures, and the Reasons for Both”

    Chair: Marianne Fay (World Bank)

    Speaker: Scott Barrett (Columbia University, United States) 

    DOWNLOAD: Presentation

    15:00–15:30Coffee

    Sessions 2A-2B

    15:30–17:00

    Session 2A Global Issues: Vaccines and Social Security Benefits

    MC 7-100

    Chair: Vincenzo Di Maro (World Bank)

     

    “Improving Children’s Health through Interventions:  A Quasi-Experiment of GAVI”
    Admasu Maruta (University of South Australia, Australia) and Clifford Afoakwah (Griffith University, Australia)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

     

    “Has Gavi Lived up to its Promise? Country-Level Evidence on Immunization Rates and Child Mortality”
    Pascal Jaupart (University of Oxford, United Kingdom) and Lizzie Dipple (University of Oxford, United Kingdom)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

     

    “Status and Progress in Cross-Border Portability of Social Security Benefits”
    Robert Holzmann (University of New South Wales, Australia) and Wels Jacques (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom and Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

    Discusssant: Damien de Walque (World Bank)

    DOWNLOAD: Presentation

     

    Session 2B Globalization and De-globalization

    MC 8-100

    Chair: Joana Silva (World Bank).

     

    “Unintended Consequences: Can the Rise of the Educated Class Explain the Revival of Protectionism?”
    Paolo Giordani (Luiss University, Italy) and Fabio Mariani (Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

     

    “Globalization and the New Normal”
    Bertrand Candelon (Maastricht University, Netherlands and Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium), Alina Carare (International Monetary Fund), Jean-Baptiste Hasse (Aix-Marseille University, France), and Jing Lu (World Bank)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

     

    “Breaking Up: Experimental Insights into International Economic (dis)integration”
    Gabriele Camera (Chapman University, United States and University of Bologna, Italy), Lukas Hohl (University of Basel, Switzerland), and Rolf Weder (University of Basel, Switzerland)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

    Discussant: Maurizio Bussolo (World Bank)

    DOWNLOAD: Presentation

    Tuesday, June 18, 2019

     Preston Auditorium
    08:00–9:30Registration and Breakfast
    09:30–10:30

    Keynote Address 3: “Putting Global Governance in its Place”

    Chair: Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg (Chief Economist, World Bank Group)

    Speaker: Dani Rodrik (Harvard University, United States)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

    10:30–11:00Coffee

    Sessions 3A-3C

    11:00–12:30

    Session 3A International Agreements and Disagreements: Trade and Environment

    MC 7-100

    Chair: Caroline Freund (World Bank)

     

    “Trade Creation and Trade Diversion in Deep Agreements”
    Aaditya Mattoo (World Bank), Alen Mulabdic (World Bank), and Michele Ruta (World Bank)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

     

    “The Global Network of Environmental Agreements: A Preliminary Analysis”
    Stefano Carattini (Georgia State University, United States), Sam Fankhauser (London School of Economics, United Kingdom), Jianjian Gao (Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom), Caterina Gennaioli (Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom), and Pietro Panzarasa (Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

     

    “Trade Wars: What Do They Mean? Why Are They Happening Now? What Are the Costs?”
    Aaditya Mattoo     (World Bank) and Robert Staiger (Dartmouth College, United States)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

     

    Session 3B Tax Agreements and Spillovers 

    MC 8-100

    Chair: David Rosenblatt (World Bank) 

     

    “Tax Sparing Agreements, Territorial Tax Reforms, and Foreign Direct Investment”
    Celine Azemar     (University of Glasgow, United Kingdom) and Dhammika Dharmapala (University of Chicago, United States)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

     

    “Domestic and Cross Border Spillover Effects of Corporate Tax Policy in Africa”
    Seydou Coulibaly     (University of Clermont Auvergne, France and African Development Bank)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

    Discussant: Anne Brockmeyer (World Bank)

     

    Session 3C Multilateral Development Banks: All About Loans

    MC 9-100

    Chair: Punam Chuhan-Pole (World Bank)

     

    “Mobilization Effects of Multilateral Development Banks”
    Chiara Broccolini (Inter-American Development Bank), Giulia Lotti (Inter-American Development Bank), Alessandro Maffioli (Inter-American Development Bank), Andrea Presbitero (International Monetary Fund), and Rodolfo Stucchi (Inter-American Development Bank)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

     

    “Investing in Human Capital: What Can We Learn from Bank's Portfolio Data?”
    Roberta Gatti (World Bank) and Aakash Mohpal (World Bank)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

     

    “Preferred and Non-Preferred Creditors”
    Tito Cordella (World Bank) and Andrew Powell (Inter-American Development Bank)

    DOWNLOAD: Paper | Presentation

    Discussant: Aart Kraay (World Bank)

    12:30–2:00Lunch (Menu Inspired by the BW Farewell Dinner) | James D. Wolfensohn Atrium

  • VENUE

    Preston Auditorium
    World Bank Headquarters | Main Complex
    1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20433

    REGISTRATION AND SECURITY

    Registration will open at 8 am on Monday, June17, 2019.

    For security reasons, all visitors to the World Bank are required to pass through a metal detector and all visitors’ bags are X-rayed.

    On arrival at the World Bank, please enter through the main entrance of the Main Complex (1818 H Street, NW). There will be a security guard and signage to guide you. As you pass through security, you will be directed to the ABCDE registration tables (after the metal detectors). Here you will register and pick up your World Bank visitor’s pass (which will grant you access to World Bank buildings until 6 p.m. on June18), as well as a conference badge and materials.

    For non-Bank/IMF staff, visitor’s passes are mandatory.

    CONFERENCE MATERIALS

    Session papers will be available on the ABCDE website www.worldbank.org/abcde2019. Hard copies will not be provided.

    INTERNET ACCESS

    There is free Wi-Fi available at the Bank. To obtain the password, please visit the ABCDE registration desk.

    BREAKFAST AND LUNCH

    Breakfast will be served on Monday, June 17 and Tuesday, June 18, 2019 from 8:00–9:00 am in Preston Lobby.

    Lunch will be served on Monday, June 17, 2019 in the Preston Lounge and on Tuesday, June 18 in James D. Wolfensohn Atrium.

    MONEY

    Foreign Exchange Facilities: Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union (BFSFCU) is a full-service bank and is located in the World Bank’s Main Complex (Room MC C2-300).

    ATM machines are located in all Bank building lobbies. More information is available at the registration desk.

Conference Details

Watch Recordings
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