Lecture Series: Monetary Policy and the Financial Sector

Sovereign debt levels have increased considerably since the Great Financial Crisis, reaching historical post-World War II highs in many advanced economies. This has been accompanied by a growing presence of non-bank financial institutions in sovereign bond markets. This combination generates new financial stability challenges, which have both domestic and international aspects. Policymakers should address these challenges by employing a carefully selected mix of tools that spans fiscal, monetary and prudential policy.

Frank Smets, being one of the co-developers of the famous Smets-Wouters macroeconomic model, is an internationally leading expert on monetary policy. He joined the BIS in December 2024 from the ECB, where he previously was Director General of Economics and Director General of Research. He was also in charge of conducting the ECB’s Strategy Review 2021. Mr. Smets holds a PhD in economics from Yale University.

The lecture series is jointly organized by Aurel Schubert, Honorary Professor at the Department of Economics and former Director General Statistics, ECB and by Guido Schäfer, Department of Economics, WU Vienna.

Attendance is free for students and faculty of the WU as well as for all interested participants. No registration is required.