Structural Changes in the Global Economy.

• Position: Conferences

On December 9 and 10, an NBER/Universities Research Conference on "Structural Changes in the Global Economy: Implications for Monetary Policy and Financial Regulation" took place in Cambridge. NBER Research Associates Andrew B. Abel, The Wharton School, and Janice C. Eberly, Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, organized this program:

F. Owen Irvine, Michigan State University, and Scott Schuh, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, "The Roles of Comovement and Inventory Investment in the Reduction of Output Volatility"

Discussant: William Dupor, Ohio State University

Stephen G. Cecchetti, Brandeis University and NBER; Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, University of Arizona; and Stefan Krause, Emory University, "Assessing the Sources of Changes in the Volatility of Real Growth"

Discussant: James H. Stock, Harvard University and NBER

Sebnem Kalemli-ozcan, University, of Houston and NBER; Ariell Reshef, New York University; and Bent E. Sorensen, University of Houston, "Productivity and Capital Flows: Evidence from U.S. States"

Discussant: John Coleman, Duke University

Charles A. Trzcinka and Andrey D. Ukhov, Indiana University, "Financial Globalization and Risk Sharing: Welfare Effects and the Optimality of Open Markets"

Discussant: Leonid Kogan, MIT and NBER

Giovanni Olivei, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and Silvana Tenreyro, London School of Economics, "The Timing of Monetary Policy Shocks"

Discussant: Marc Giannoni, Columbia University and NBER

Hoyt Bleakley, University of California, San Diego, and Kevin Cowan, Inter-American Development Bank, "Maturity Mismatch and Financial Crises: Evidence from Emerging Market Corporations"

Discussant: Mark Aguiar, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Prasanna Gai and Nicholas Vause, Bank of England, and Peter Kondor, London School of Economics, "Procycfcality, Colateral Values, and Financial Stability"

Discussant: Adriano Rampini, Northwestern University

Sohnke Bartram, Lancaster University; Gregory W. Brown, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and John Hund, University, of Texas at Austin, "Estimating Systemic Risk in the International Financial System"

Discussant: Craig Furfine, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Most of the reduction in GDP volatility since 1983 is accounted for by a decline in the comovement of output among industries that hold inventories. This decline is not simply a passive byproduct of reduced volatility in common factors or shocks. Instead, structural changes occurred in...