What cross-regional perspectives can be gathered from previous economic, political, and social transformations, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, the aftermath of the Arab Spring, and recent protests in Latin America? What can policymakers learn from these events on how to move forward with reforms to support a new social contract?

Following opening remarks by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, join the IMF’s Jihad Azour, Alejandro Werner, and a distinguished panel of experts from the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe for a discussion on how the pandemic can serve as an opportunity for countries to overhaul their economies, making them smarter, fairer, greener and more conducive to job creation.

Participants:

Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund

Alejandro Werner, Director, Western Hemisphere Department, IMF

Moderator:

Jihad Azour, Director Middle East and Central Asia Department, IMF

Speakers:

Erik Berglöf, Chief Economist at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

Erik Berglöf is the Chief economist at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Prior to joining AIIB in September 2020, he was Director of the Institute of Global Affairs, London School of Economics, and Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development from 2006 to 2015, where he was part of creating and co-led the Vienna Initiative, a European crisis response team credited with mitigating the impact of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. He is an expert in transition economics and institutional transformation through private sector development. He holds a PhD in Financial Economics and an MA in Business and Economics, both from the Stockholm School of Economics. Mr. Berglöf is from Sweden.

Minouche Shafik, Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science

Minouche Shafik is the Director of the London School of Economics. Prior to this, she has previously worked in senior positions at the World Bank, the Department for International Development, and the IMF before becoming Deputy Governor of the Bank of England in 2014. She was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in the Queen's New Year's Honours list in 2015.

Marwan Muasher, Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Marwan Muasher serves as vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he oversees research on the Middle East. He is a Jordanian diplomat and politician who was Jordan's foreign minister from 2002 to 2004 and its deputy prime minister during 2004 and 2005. He was Jordan's first ambassador to Israel and former ambassador to the United States.

Mauricio Cárdenas, a Visiting Senior Research Scholar and a Visiting Professor at Columbia University SIPA

Mauricio Cárdenas is a Visiting Senior Research Scholar and a Visiting Professor at Columbia University SIPA. Mr. Cárdenas served as Colombia’s Minister of Finance in 2012-2018 and has been a minister in four other portfolios: economic development, transport, planning, mines and energy. He has been twice Executive Director of Fedesarrollo and served as Director of the Latin America Initiative at the Brookings Institution and as President of LACEA. Mr. Cárdenas holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.