HONOURS FORUM

“Productivity and Growth in the European Arena”

A Fundamental Approach to the Crisis

� ursday, June 14, 19:00 to 21:30Academy Building, Senaatskamer

Public lecture by:

Prof. Harry Garretsen University of Groningen Dean of the Faculty of Economics & Business

Prof. Bart van Ark Executive Vice President & Chief Economist of � e Conference Board, New York

� e event is supported by: SOM Research Institute EBF

Chairman:Dr. Petros MilionisUniversity of Groningen

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Preface

When headlines in financial media are predominantly occupied by

terms such as ‘European disintegration’ and a ‘financial apocalypse’,

it seems reasonable to question the sustainability of the Eurozone.

Each day, we are confronted with various flaws in the European

project. Given the urgency of the problem, however, it seems that

policymakers are currently more focused on short-term measures to

tame down skyrocketing interest rates, fiscal budget imbalances and

social unrest in Southern-European countries. Indeed, it seems that

Europe is busier trying to find good fire extinguishers than to find

the source that set the house initially on fire.

The purpose of this Honours Forum is to turn away from the turmoil

in the financial markets and take a closer look at the European real

economy. In particular, we are interested in whether there is still

scope for growth for European countries and, if so, what are the

sources of this economic growth? What makes European countries,

or European businesses, competitive in the 21st century? Why are

economic activities currently predominantly concentrated in certain

regions of Europe? These and numerous other questions can be

asked in order to find the source that set the European project ‘on

fire’.

The organisors of the June 2012 Honours Forum,

Jelle Hatenboer

Omiros Kouvavas

Gert-Jan Romensen

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Programme

19:00 hrs

Welcome and Introduction by dr. Petros Milionis

19:15 hrs

Lecture by prof. dr. Harry Garretsen

19:45 hrs

Break with coffee & tea

20:15 hrs

Lecture by prof. dr. Bart van Ark

20:45 hrs

Discussion and questions from the audience

21:20 hrs

Closing

21:30 hrs

Drinks at cafe De Keyzer

Date

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Location

Senaatskamer

Academy Building

Broerstraat 5

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Chairman

Dr. Petros MilionisAssistant ProfessorDepartment of Economics, Econometrics & Finance Faculty of Economics and BusinessUniversity of Groningen

After graduating summa cum laude from the Athens University

of Economics & Business with a B.A. in economics, dr. Milionis

obtained a PhD in economics from Brown University in the

United States of America with a thesis on the emergence of

sustained economic growth, trade and cooperation.

Afterwards, he returned to Europe to join the University

of Groningen as an assistant professor in economics at the

department of Economics, Econometrics & Finance. With his

current research interests being in macroeconomics, economic

growth & development and monetary economics, dr. Milionis

combines his teaching activities with research on a variety of

subjects, varying from innovation-based growth to geographical

and institutional sources of a rising Europe.

Furthermore, dr. Milionis is actively involved in the Honours

College programme of the faculty of Economics & Business,

teaching students of the economics-stream the principles of

cultural economics.

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Speaker

Prof. Harry GarretsenDean/Professor Department of Global Economics and ManagementFaculty of Economics and BusinessUniversity of Groningen

Professor Garretsen is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business. He studied economics in Groningen and obtained his PhD at the University of Groningen in 1991. He subsequently worked at De Nederlandsche Bank and became professor in economics at the Radboud University in Nijmegen and at Utrecht University.

Harry Garretsen is a visiting fellow at the University of Cambridge and research fellow at the CESifo institute in Munich. Furthermore, he is a deputy Crown member of the The Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER) and academic partner at the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB).

Garretsen’s expertise focuses on the field of international economics, economic geography and multinationals. He regularly contributes to the public discussion about the pros and cons of globalization in articles published in, for instance, Vrij Nederland, De Groene Amsterdammer and NRC Handelsblad. His role as co-author of two TV documentaries about economics for VPRO’s Noorderlicht and his membership of the editorial staff of Me Judice, the new on-line discussion forum for economists, underline his ambition not to be active among academic colleagues exclusively.

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Speaker

Bart van Ark is executive vice president and chief economist of

The Conference Board. He leads a team of almost two dozen

economists who produce a range of widely watched economic

indicators and growth forecasts, as well as indepth global

economic research. A Dutch national, he is the first non-U.S.

chief economist in the 95-year history of The Conference Board.

Van Ark is an expert in international comparative studies of

economic performance, productivity, and innovation. As a

consulting director of international economic research for

The Conference Board for 10 years he was responsible for its

annual flagship publication on productivity and instrumental

in helping to expand its comparative analytical capabilities to

include productivity and labor and consumer-market research

across countries and regions.

Van Ark continues to steward the longstanding research

collaboration of The Conference Board with the University of

Groningen in the Netherlands; a professor there since 2000,

he holds the university’s chair in Economic Development,

Technological Change and Growth.

Prof. Bart van ArkVice President and Chief Economist of the Conference Board, New YorkVisiting ProfessorDepartment of Gobal Economics & Management Faculty of Economics and BusinessUniversity of Groningen

Special thanks to…

Dr. Padma Rao Sahib

Prof. Harry Garretsen

Prof. Bart van Ark

Dr. Petros Milionis

Research Master Comittee

Phd Comittee

Honours College

SOM Research Institute

Pascal Nattkamp

Roderik Jongbloed