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THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SOUTH EAST EUROPE

The political economy programme at SEESOX aims to integrate the analysis of economic and political developments in South Eastern Europe so that the interaction of these influences is captured and placed in a policy-relevant context.

Prospectus 

To this end the programme commissions research reports on areas of priority interest; provides research fellowships; hosts lectures and seminars by prominent international figures; and brings together academics, officials and private market participants in policy-oriented workshops.

NEWS

January 2011: Launch of the recent SEESOX publication in collaboration with the Bank of Greece entitled: “From crisis to recovery - Sustainable growth in South East Europe” edited by Othon Anastasakis, Jens Bastian and Max Watson. The book gathers studies that analyze the impact of the global crisis on the region and seeks to present ways in which the region could unlock its growth potential through reforms that promote foreign direct investments, financial sector restructuring, generation of more and better jobs, and export competitiveness. Please click here for an online version of the book.

SEESOX/Bank of Albania Cooperation

On September 8, 2010, SEESOX and the Bank of Albania signed a three-year cooperation agreement in Tirana. They also organised their first roundtable discussion on Growth and regional cooperation in South East Europe.

October 2010: Jens Bastian became the second Alpha Bank Fellow in the political economy programme.

June 2009: Peter Sanfey of the EBRD became a guest member of St Antony's College, formalizing his role in helping to develop the political economy programme. One of his first activities was to co-chair a workshop on the region, which was co-sponsored by the Bank of Greece and the EBRD (see recent activities below).

May 2009: Susan Schadler, a former Deputy Director of the IMF, joined SEESOX for two terms as a Senior Associate Member at St Antony's College. She is writing a book on Turkey, and researching into models of growth in the region.  

RECENT ACTIVITIES

February 2011: High level conference, hosted by the Bank of Greece took place in Athens. Items on the agenda included macroeconomic stability, structural reform challenges, the relationship between the financial system and growth, and social and political support for reform. Most of the conference presentations are available here.

Programme

January 2011: SEESOX hosted the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr Ardian Fullani. Mr Fullani discussed the ways in which institutional cooperation between central banks in the region has proven a key benchmark of maintaining stability in the financial sector in Southeast Europe. Financial sector cooperation frequently requires not only central bank collaboration but the involvement of and support from finance ministers. Participants in the panel raised these points, and there was consensus on the floor about the benefits of stronger cooperation.

November 2010: In this year’s Bank of Greece lecture, the speaker was Klaus Regling, head of the European Stability Facility. This was the occasion for a notably frank discussion of the sources of current stress in the euro area and the potential lessons of this experience for future candidates for euro area membership.

May 2010: Workshop on “the role of the state in Southeast Europe” was organized under the lead of the SEESOX Alpha Bank fellow for 2009-2010, Dimitrios Sotiropoulos. The workshop, which was held in association with the London School of Economics Centre for the Study of Global Governance, examined the roots of governance problems, role of the state in social welfare, and the economy of Southeast Europe.

October 2009: The Bank of Greece and SEESOX is organized a conference in Athens on Challenges and Prospects of South East European Economies in the wake of the financial crisis. To access the conference programme click here. To view the presentations, and profiles of the participants, click here.

June 2009: A workshop entitled South East Europe: The impact of the global financial crisis brought together participants from academia, international agencies and private financial institutions to discuss the impact of the financial crisis on the region. The workshop was supported by the Bank of Greece and the EBRD. To access the programme of the workshop, click here. The conclusions of the workshop will be posted in the near future.