Global authorities have longstanding worries about the impact of financial contagion on the economy: the domino effect of a failing bank can have severe repercussions, as the 2008 financial crash illustrated. To deal with these potential shocks, regulators and financial institutions have implemented risk management systems and processes designed to minimize the likelihood that such an event will be able to destroy the economy again.

An  e-procurement system launched by the central government in Ukraine in 2016 reduces collusion and leads to better market outcomes, according to research carried out by Bruno Baranek, Leon Musolff and Vitezslav Titl.

The European Commission has set one of its key climate and energy targets as achieving a share of at least 32% for renewable energy over total energy consumed by 2030. But despite such a large share up for grabs, the methods by which renewable energy is bought and sold are far from clear. Renewable energy auctions have been implemented globally; they’re currently taking place in most countries in Europe and beyond 100 countries around the world.

We are very happy to announce that Agnès Bénassy-Quéré will be returning to the EconPol Annual Conference for the second year.

It's a Biden/Harris win in the US election and a very different political landscape on the horizon from January 2021. With that in mind,  and in a change from our usual format, we close our 2020 conference with a panel of experts in trade and international relations who will discuss what impact the US election will have on EU-US-Asia trade relations.

'Balancing New Challenges: Sustainable and Inclusive Growth for Europe' is the topic for our first panel debate of this year's conference, which will be hosted and moderated by broadcaster Monika Jones. We are delighted to welcome Ivan Faiella (Senior Economist, Banca d’Italia), Jörg Kukies (State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Finance), Emmanuel Moulin (Director General of the French Treasury) and Piroska Nagy Mohacsis (Programme Director of LSE's Institute of Global Affairs) to debate this increasingly important issue.

Johannes Hahn, the European Commissioner for Budget and Administration, will deliver the keynote speech at EconPol's 2020 annual conference. Commissioner Hahn has been with the Commission since 2010, where he previously served as the European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, and the European Commissioner for Regional Policy. From 2007 to 2010, he was the Austrian Minister for Science and Research. He was previously a member of the Vienna regional government (2003-2007) and the Vienna regional parliament (1996-2003).

EconPol Europe's 2020 annual conference will be held completely online, and we're delighted to announce that the event will be hosted by Jennifer Baker and Monika Jones, two extremely experienced print and broadcast journalists. Monika will oversee events on Wednesday 25 November, with Jennifer taking care of the proceedings on Thursday 26 November.