Parallel Session 1A : Inflation and Monetary Policy

Chair: Maria Demertzis  

• Should Inflation-Targeting Central Banks care about Traded and Non-Traded Sectors? Leitemo Kai, Norwegian School of Management BI, Öistein Röisland, Norges Bank, and Ragnar Torvik, Norwegain University of Science and Technology and Norges Bank (Discussant: Maria Demertzis)
• Exploring the potential conflict between monetary stability and financial stability in a small open economy, Q. Farooq Akram, Norges Bank, Gunnar Bardsen, NTNU and Norges Bank and Oyvind Eitrheim, Norges Bank, (Discussant: Lucio Sarno)
• Inflation Inertia and Monetary Policy Shocks, Julia Lendvai, University of Namur (Discussant: Oyvind Eitrheim)
• Inflation Targets as Focal Points, Maria Demertzis, De Nederlandsche Bank and University of Amsterdam and Nicola Viegi, University of KwaZulu-Natal, (Discussant: Julia Lendvai)

 Parallel Session 1B : Real Exchange rates and PPP

 Chair: Maria Dolores Gadea

• Productivity and the real euro-dollar exchange rate, Lewis Vivien, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, (Discussant: Marcela Sabate)

• Foreign Exchange Market Equilibrium in Closely Trading Regions: A Test of Purchasing Power Parity, M. Ariff, Monash University and Catherine S. F. Ho, Monash University, (Discussant: Lewis Vivien)
• A story of PPP persistence. The Spanish Peseta (1870-1998) against the Dollar and the Pound, Gadea, M.D., University of Zaragoza, M. Sabate, University of Zaragoza and J. M. Serrano, University of Zaragoza, (Discussant: Catherine S. F. Ho)

Parallel Session 1C : Financial Economics I

 Chair: Thomas Seegmuller

• Financial Development and Household Portfolios   Evidence from Spain, the U.K. and the U.S., Antzoulatos, A. A., University of Piraeus and Tsoumas, C., University of Piraeus, (Discussant: Thomas Seegmuller)
• Financial Markets, Technological Innovation, Investments in R&D, and public policies, Mazzoli Marco, Catholic University of Piacenza, (Discussant: C. Tsoumas)
• Worldwide Stock Market Reactions To The Scheduled U.S. Macroeconomic News Announcements, Janne Aijo, University of Vaasa, Jussi Nikkinen, University of Vaasa, University of Vaasa, Andpetri Sahlstrom, University of Vaasa, and Mohhamed Omran, Arab Academy for Science & Technology, (Discussant: Mazzoli Marco)
• Steady state analysis and endogenous fluctuations in a finance constrained model, Thomas Seegmuller, CNRS and EUREQua, (Discussant: Andpetri Sahlstrom)

Parallel Session 1D: Empirical Macroeconomics I

 Chair: Hilde C. Bjørnland

• Quantitative Analysis of Macroeconomic Shocks and the Euro Currency in High Frequency Perspective, Dr. Young Wook Han, Hallym University, (Discussant: Hilde C. Bjørnland)
• Pass-Through From Exchange Rate To Prices In Brazilan Analysis Using Time-Varying Parameters For The 1980- 2002 Period, Christiane R. Albuquerque, Central Bank of Brazil and Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul and Marcelo S. Portugal, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul ( UFRGS) and CNPq, (Discussant: Dr. Han Young Wook)
• The Political Economy of Exchange Rate Regime Duration: A Survival Analysis, Ralph Setzer, University of Hohenheim, (Discussant: Marcelo S. Portugal)
• Identifying the Interdependence between US Monetary Policy and the Stock Market, Hilde C. Bjørnland, University of Oslo and Kai Leitemo, Norwegian School of Management BI, (Discussant: Ralph Setzer)

Parallel Session 1E : Financial Econometrics I

 Chair: Michael Ehrmann

• Bubbles and fads in the stock market: another look at the experience of the US, Alessandri Piergiorgio, Birkbeck College, University of London, (Discussant: Nelson Mark)
• A Cointegrating VAR Analysis of the Expectations Formation Process of US Output, D. Papaikonomou, University of Leicester and Pires, J., University of Leicester, (Discussant: Alessandri Piergiorgio)
• Changes in the Nature of Financial Spillover after the Asian Crisis, Jun Nagayasu, University of Tsukuba, (Discussant: D. Papaikonomou)
• Stocks, Bonds, Money Markets and Exchange Rates: Measuring International Financial Transmission, Michael Ehrmanna, European Central Bank, Marcel Fratzscherb, European Central Bank and Roberto Rigobonc Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (Discussant: Jun Nagayasu)

KEYNOTE SPEECH - European Central Bank - PLENARY SESSION

Chair: George Kouretas

CHARLES ENGEL, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN :

Portfolio Choice and Home Bias in Equities in a Monetary Open-Economy DSGE Model

 Parallel Session 2A: European Union Economics I

 Chair: Michael  Carlberg

• Look Who's Talking: ECB communication during the first years of EMU, David-Jan Jansen De Nederlandsche Bank, and Jakob de Haan, University of Groningen, (Discussant: A. Belke)
• The allocation of power in the enlarged ECB governing council: an assessment of the ECB rotation model, Belke, A., University of Hohenheim and Styczynska, B.,University of Hohenheim, (Discussant: Michael  Carlberg)
• EU Enlargement and the EMU, Leo Michelis, Ryerson University and Minoas Koukouritakis, University of Crete, (Discussant: David-Jan Jansen)
• Monetary and Fiscal Policy Interactions in the Euro Area, Michael  Carlberg, Federal University, (Discussant: Minoas Koukouritakis)

Parallel Session 2B: Foreign Exchange and Parity Relations

Chair: Dimitris A. Georgoutsos

• Inflation prediction from the term structure: the Fisher equation in a multivariate SDF framework, Balfoussia, C., University of York and Wickens, M.R. University of York and CEPR, (Discussant: Mark Taylor)
• Nonlinearity and Asymmetry in Uncovered Interest Rate Parity, Richard T. Baillie, Michigan State University, and Rehim Kilic, Georgia Institute of Technology, (Discussant: Angelos Kanas)
• Heterogeneous Beliefs in a Sticky-Price Foreign Exchange Model, Mikael Bask, Umea University and Carina Soderlund, Umea University, (Discussant: Rehim Kilic)
• Forecasting stock index returns using volatility based recurrent neural network, Stelios D. Bekiros, Athens University of Economics and Business, and Dimitris A. Georgoutsos, Athens University of Economics and Business, (Discussant: Janne Äijö)

Parallel Session 2C: Banks and International Markets

 Chair: Jean-Yves Gnabo 

• The Deregulation of Central Banking: Towards an International Market for Good Monetary Policy,  Eichenberger, R., University of Fribourgand Rossi, S., University of Fribourg, (Discussant: Jean-Yves Gnabo )
• Commercial property prices and bank performance, E. Philip Davis, Brunel University and Haibin Zhu, Bank for International Settlements, (Discussant: S. Rossi)
• A  Sovereign Debt. Model with Trade Credit and Reserves, Emanuel Kohlscheen, University of Warwick and Stephen A. O’Connell, Swarthmore College, (Discussant: Haibin Zhu)
• How transparent is the intervention exchange rate policy of the Bank of Japan?, Gnabo, J.Y., CEREFIM, University of Namur and C. Lecourt, CEREFIM, University of Namur, (Discussant: Emanuel Kohlscheen)

Parallel Session 2D: Financial Economics II

 Chair: Ansgar Belke

• How to save more: Individual financial structures as tools for self-control, P.E. Otto, University of Warwick, G.B. Davies, University of Cambridge and Chater, N. University of Warwick, (Discussant: Ansgar Belke)
• The Quality Effect: Does Financial Liberalization Improve the Allocation of Capital, Abdul Abiad, International Monetary Fund, Nienke Oomes, International Monetary Fund and Kenichi Ueda, International Monetary Fund, (Discussant: P.E. Otto)
• Why does the correlation between stock and bond returns vary over time? Magnus Andersson, European Central Bank, Elizaveta Krylova, European Central Bank and Sami Vahamaa, University of Vaasa, (Discussant: Kenichi Ueda)
• Dividend Yields for Forecasting Stock Market Returns, Belke, A., University of Hohenheim, Polleit, T., Barclays Capital and Business School of Business and Finance, (Discussant: Elizaveta Krylova)

Parallel Session 2E: Growth and Business Cycles

Chair: Christian Richter

• Criteria for Assessing Sustainable Development: Theoretical Issues and Empirical Evidence for the Case of Greece, Dimitra Vouvaki, University of Crete and Anastasios Xepapadeas, University of Crete, (Discussant: Christian Richter)
• Finance, Institutions and Economic Growth, Panicos Demetriades, University of Leicester, and Siong Hook Law University Putra Malaysia, (Discussant: Anastasios Xepapadeas)
• A Time-Frequency Analysis of the Coherences of the US Business Cycle and the European Business Cycle, Andrew Hughes Hallett, Vanderbilt University and CEPR and Christian Richter, Loughborough University, (Discussant: P. Kalaitzidakis)

INVITED LECTURE - ALPHA Bank - PLENARY SESSION

Chair: Angelos Kanas

LAURENCE COPELAND, CARDIFF BUSINESS SCHOOL :

Arbitrage Bounds and the Time Series Properties of the Discount on UK Closed-End Mutual Funds

Parallel Session 3A: Emerging Markets

Chair: Egert Balazs

• Dual markets for Foreign Currency and the Role of Expectations: Evidence from the Pacific Basin Countries, Diamandis, P.F., Athens University of Economics and Business, G. P. Kouretas, University of Crete, and Zarangas, L., Technological Educational Institute of Epirus, (Discussant: Egert, Balazs)
• Mean and Variance Causality between the Cyprus Stock Exchange and Major Equities Markets, Constantinou, E., The Philips College, Georgiades, R., The Philips College, Kazandjian, A., The Philips College and Kouretas, G. P. University of Crete, (Discussant: L. Zaragas)
• Fundamentals, the exchange rate and the next EU enlargement rounds - Evidence from Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Turkey, Crespo Cuaresma, J., University of Vienna, J. Fidrmuc, Oesterreichische Nationalbank and M. A. Silgoner, Oesterreichische Nationalbank, (Discussant: A. Yannopoulos)
• Daily Foreign Exchange Interventions in Emerging Europe: Should We Give a Damn? The Case of Croatia and Turkey, Balazs Egert, Oesterreichische Nationalbank; MODEM, University of Paris X- Nanterre and William Davidson Institute, (Discussant: G. P. Kouretas)

Parallel Session 3B: Macroeconomic Policy

Chair: Athanasios Tagkalakis

• Bank Loan Supply and Monetary Policy Transmission in Germany: An Assessment based on Matching Impulse Responses, O. Huelsewig, Institute for Economic Research, E. Mayer, University of Wurzburg and T. Wollmershaeuser, Institute for Economic Research, (Discussant: Athanasios Tagkalakis)
• International Transmission of Monetary Policy Shocks: Can Asymmetric Price Setting Explain the Stylized Facts? Caroline Schmidt, Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research, (Discussant: O. Huelsewig)
• The effects of macroeconomic policy shocks on the UK labor market, Athanasios Tagkalakis, Bank of England, (Discussant:, Athanasios P. Papadopoulos)

Parallel Session 3C: Macroeconomic Models I

Chair:Mattias Hoffmann

• Imperfect Capital Mobility in an Open Economy Model of Capital Accumulation, Vladimir Klyuev, International Monetary Fund, (Discussant Ibrahim Chowdhury)
• Central Bank Balance Sheet Concerns,Monetary and Fiscal Rules, and Macroeconomic Stability, Feng Zhu, Bank for International Settlements and Yale University, (Discussant M. Ehrmann)
• Compensating Wages under Different Exchange Rate Regimes, Mattias Hoffmann, University of Cologne, (Discussant Feng Zhu)
• Assessing Money Supply Behavior, Ibrahim Chowdhury, University of Cologne, and Andreas Schabert, University of Amsterdam, (Discussant Mattias Hoffmann)

Session 3D: Monetary Policy and Transmission Mechanism

Chair: Cavallari Lilia

• Optimal Monetary Policy Under Global and Sectoral Shocks: Is International Monetary Cooperation Beneficial? Wolfram Berger, University of Hagen, (Discussant: Pablo Rovira Kaltwasser)
• Non- linearities in the dynamics of the demand for euro area M1, A. Calza, European Central Bank and Bank of Italy, and A. Zaghini, European Central Bank and Bank of Italy, (Discussant: Wolfram Berger)
• The Effect of Capital Requirement Regulation on the Transmission of Monetary Policy: Evidence from Austria, Philipp Engler, Free University Berlin, Terhi Jokipii, Trinity College Dublin, Christian Merkl, Institute for World Economics and Kiel University, Pablo Rovira Kaltwasser, Catholic University of Leuven, L. Vinhas de Souza, Kiel Institute for World Economics, (Discussant: Lilia Cavallari)
• Globalisation and the international monetary transmission, Cavallari Lilia University of Rome, (Discussant: A. Zaghini)

Session 3E: Empirical Macroeconomics II

 Chair: Moise Sidiropoulos

• Measuring inflation persistence: a structural time series approach, Dossche, M., National Bank of Belgium and SHERPPA and Everaert, G. SHERPPA, (Discussant: G. Diana)
• A Model for Forecasting Swedish Inflation, Belke, A., University of Hohenheim, Polleit, T. Barclays Capital and Business School of Business and Finance, (Discussant: M. Dossche)
• Measuring credibility of monetary policy of the eurozone candidates: an application of a regime-switching autoregressive model, Katerina Kalcheva University of Munich, (Discussant: A. Belke)
• Central Bank Reform and Inflation Dynamics in the Transition Economies: Theory and some evidence, G. Dianna, University of Strasburg, A. P. Papadopoulos, University of Crete, Moise Sidiropoulos, University of Strasburg, (Discussant: Katerina Kalcheva)

KEYNOTE SPEECH - Bank of Greece - PLENARY SESSION

Chair: Athansios Papadopoulos

NOBUHIRO KIYOTAKI, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS :

ADJUSTING TO CAPITAL LIBERALIZATION

INVITED LECTURE - Ministry of Educational and Religious Affairs - PLENARY SESSION

Chair: Anastasios Xepapadeas

GIKAS HARDOUVELIS, UNIVERSITY OF PIRAEUS :

THE YIELD SPREAD AS A SYMMETRIC PREDICTOR OF OUTPUT AND INFLATION

Session 4A: Macroeconomic Models II

Chair: Huw David Dixon

• How robust are the economic, political and institutional determinants of seigniorage? Jong-A-Pin, R.M., University of Groningen and Jacob de Haan, University of Groningen and CESifo Munich, (Discussant: Huw David Dixon)
• World finance and the US new economy: welfare efficiency and moral hazard, Marcus Miller, Warwick University, CSGR and CEPR, Olli Castren, European Central Bank and Zhang, L., Warwick University, CSGR and CEPR, (Discussant: Jacob de Haan)
• The Dynamic Effects of Adjustment Costs in a Model with Stochastic wage staggering, Zuzana Janko, University of Calgary, (Discussant: Olli Castren)
•  Persistence and Nominal Inertia in a Generalized Taylor Economy: How Longer Contracts Dominate Shorter Contracts, Huw Dixon, University of York and Engin Kara, University of York, (Discussant: Zuzana Janko)

Session 4B: Financial Economics III

Chair:Thomas  Nitschka

• Macroeconomic Fundamentals and Exchange Rates: A Non-parametric Cointegration Analysis, Emmanuel Davradakis, University of Warwick, (Discussant: Thomas  Nitschka)
• Large vs. small players: A closer look at the dynamics of speculative attacks, Bjonnes,G.H., Norwegian School of Management (BI), Holden, S. University of Oslo and Norges Bank, Rime, D. Norges Bank (Central Bank of Norway) and Stockholm Institute for Financial Research, and Solheim H. Statistics Norway, (Discussant: Emmanuel Davradakis)
• Regime switching and artificial neural network forecasting of the Cyprus Stock Exchange stock returns, Constantinou, E., The Philips College, Georgiades, R., The Philips College, Kazandjian, A., The Philips College and Kouretas, G. P. University of Crete, (Discussant: Dagfinn Rime)
• The U.S. consumption-wealth ratio and predictability of national stock returns: Evidence for the G7, Thomas  Nitschka, University of Dortmund, (Discussant: Chiona Balfoussia)

Parallel Session 4C : European Union Economics II

 Chair: Kyprianos Prodromidis

• The Economic Geography of the Euro, Pavlos Petroulas, University of Stockholm,(Discussant: Eleftherios Spyromitros)
• Policy mix in a Monetary Union under alternative labour market institutions, Moise Sidiropoulos and Eleftherios Spyromitros, University of Strasburg, (Discussant: Kyprianos Prodromidis)
• Welfare benefits and the rate of unemployment: some evidence from the European Union in the last thirty years, George C. Bitros, Athens University of Economics and Business and Kyprianos Prodromidis, Athens University of Economics and Business, (Discussant: Pavlos Petroulas)

Session 4D: Financial and Futures Markets

Chair:G.Manalis

• Price and Open Interest in Greek stock index futures market, Christos  Floros, University of Portsmouth, (Discussant: G. Manalis)
• The Futures Premium Puzzle: A Reconsideration, Bernoth, K. De Nederlandsche Bank, von Hagen, J. University of Bonn, Indiana University, and CEPR, de Vries, C.G. Erasmus University Rotterdam and Tinbergen Institute, (Discussant: Christos  Floros)
• Turn-of-the-month and intramonth effects: Explanation from the important macroeconomic news announcements, Jussi Nikkinen, University of Vaasa, Petri Sahlström, University of Vaasa, and Janne Äijö, University of Vaasa, (Discussant: K. Bernoth)
• Price dynamics between informationally linked securities, Phylaktis, K. and G.Manalis, (Discussant: G. Tsiotas)

Parallel Session 4E: Macroeconomic Models III

Chair: Ian D. McAvinchey

• Corporate Value, Corporate Earnings and Exchange Rates, Christos A. Grambovas, and Stuart McLeay, (Discussant: Ian D McAvinchey)
• Why do central banks intervene secretly? Michel Beine, University of Brussels and Oscar Bernal, University of Brussels, (Discussant: Christos A. Grambovas)
• A tale of monetary union, stock markets and fiscal cannibalism, Ian D McAvinchey, University of Aberdeen, and W. David McCausland, University of Aberdeen, (Discussant: Enisse Kharroubi)