Past Event
Seven Years after the Crisis: Intersecting Perspectives
First edition of the annual "Platform for Advanced & Emerging Economies Policy Dialogue"
On 1 April Bruegel organised a high-level conference in Rabat, Morocco, in cooperation with the OCP Policy Center. With Europe and the Middle Eastern and North Africa (MENA) region both seeking routes to sustainable and inclusive growth, the time is ripe to compare perspectives. Across four interactive sessions, participants addressed the key issues facing advanced and emerging economies seven years after the financial crisis.
- Long-term growth strategies for advanced and emerging economies
- Industrial policy – taking stock of post-crisis industries in advanced economies and the evolution of industries in emerging MENA countries
- Rethinking Euro-Mediterranean energy relations
- Youth unemployment in developed and emerging economies
Event materials
Policy report: Seven years after the crisis: intersecting perspectives
This conference marked the creation of a structured, policy-oriented platform for dialogue between the Middle Eastern and North Africa (MENA) region and advanced economies. Focusing on economic policies, the platform will discuss long-term growth strategies, industrial policy, energy markets and the cross-cutting theme of youth unemployment. Prominent experts from think tanks, academia policy and business will meet in an interactive intellectual setting to share their perspectives. Most importantly they will generate valuable ideas and proposals, summarised in publications, that will be of use to both participants and interested external stakeholders.
Schedule
20:00 – 22:30
Opening Dinner
09:15 – 09:30
Opening remarks
Karim El Aynaoui, Managing Director, OCP Policy Center
Nicolò Russo Perez, Head, International Affairs Program, Compagnia di San Paolo
Guntram B. Wolff, Former Director
09:30 – 10:45
Panel I : Long-term growth strategies for advanced and emerging economies
Chair: Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, Country Director for the Maghreb, World Bank
Several years after the crisis, economic recovery is still fragile, especially in Europe. The expectations of growth are decreasing and take-off is struggling from feeble demand from developed countries, pushing developing ones to seek alternative growth strategies. These challenges have constrained structural transformations which would enable new growth drivers. This session aims at shedding light on the different impediments to long-term growth after the crisis for both advanced and emerging economies, putting focus on the strengths and weaknesses of current strategies to transform the current unfavourable situation into an opportunity to design more efficient growth paths.
Authors of paper
Rim Berahab, Research Assistant, OCP Policy Center
Karim El Aynaoui, Managing Director, OCP Policy Center
Karim El Mokri, Senior Economist, OCP Policy Center
Speakers
Marek Dabrowski, Non-Resident Fellow
Uri Dadush, Non-Resident Fellow
Heliodoro Temprano Arroyo, Head of Unit "Neighbourhood Countries and Macro-Financial Assistance", European Commission, DG ECFIN
10:45 – 11:15
Coffee break
11:15 – 12:30
Panel II: Industrial policy- taking stock of post-crisis industries in advanced economies and the evolution of industries in emerging MENA countries
Chair: Dominique Bocquet, General Finance and Economic Controller, Ministry of Finance, France
Emerging economies are playing a growing role in the global economy thanks to their engagement in global value chains (GVCs) that have allowed countries to integrate rapidly in the global economy. While integration into GVCs by emerging economies has the potential to contribute to rapid growth in exports, employment and economic growth in these countries, it is only one, albeit important, stepping stone for economic development. This session will take stock of industrial policy in advanced economies as well as the evolution of industries, and their role in GVCs, in emerging countries.
Author of paper
Abdelaziz Ait Ali, Economist, OCP Policy Center
Hinh Dinh, Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center
Yassine Msadfa, Research Assistant, OCP Policy Center
Speakers
Hakim Ben Hammouda, Former Minister of Finance, Tunisia
Ted Moran, Georgetown University and Non Resident Fellow, PIIE
Chiedu Osakwe, Director of Accessions, WTO
Additional speaker to be confirmed
12:45 – 14:30
Lunch break
Keynote speech
Speaker from Ministry of Economy and Finance to be confirmed
14:30 – 15:45
Panel III: Rethinking the euro-mediterranean energy relations
Chair: Manfred Hafner, Coordinator of Energy Scenarios and Policy Programme, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
In addition to geopolitical instability, countries located along the Southern shore of the Mediterranean face a range of pressing macro- and socio-economic challenges, including solving the problems of poverty and high levels of structural unemployment, in a context of fast demographic growth as well as the windfall of oil revenues. Access to energy is essential to enable socio-economic development. The current energy situation in Southern Mediterranean countries is characterized by a rapid increase of energy demand, low energy efficiency and low domestic energy prices due to universal energy subsidies. In short, the current energy situation does not appear sustainable and poses several risks to the prospects of socio-economic development of the region. This panel will investigate how the EU could formulate a new cooperation with Southern Mediterranean countries to enhance the sustainability of the regional energy systems, also in the framework of the Energy Union and of the evolving European Neighbourhood Policy.
Speakers
Laura El-Katiri, Reseach Fellow, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies
Marco Raganella, Head of Business Development Maghreb, Enel Green Power S.p.A.
Mehmet Öğütçü, Chairman, Bosphorus Energy Club
15:45 – 16:00
Coffee break
16:00 – 17:15
Panel IV: Youth unemployment in developed and emerging economies
Chair: Malika Laasri Lahou, CEO for Morocco, Education for Employment
The stubbornly high rate of unemployment and its persistence since the crisis is a problem for both developed and emerging countries. These rates are unfortunately more alarming when referring to the youth in emerging countries. Fuelling these high figures are certain factors making it hard for younger job seekers to secure one. To name a few, the job creation rate is low, the job market laws are rigid and the education system is not adequate to employers’ needs. With this in mind, this panel aims to discuss the aforementioned factors, both structural and short-term, fuelling the increasing unemployment as well as suggesting solutions that can help reverse this trend both in developed and emerging economies.
Author of paper
Guntram B. Wolff, Former Director
Speakers
Samir Benmakhlouf, Director General, Microsoft Morocco
Stefano Sacchi, Professor, University of Milan and Special Commissioner, ISFOL, Rome
Daniela Zampini, Employment Specialist, International Labour Office
17:15 – 17:30
Coffee break
17:30 – 18:30
Policy panel
Chair: Guntram B. Wolff, Former Director
This high-level panel will be an opportunity for seasoned policy makers to discuss appropriate policy responses to sluggish growth, rapidly changing market structures, uncoordinated trade policies to name a few of the challenges policy makers have to face nowadays.
Speakers
Iñigo Fernandez de Mesa, State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Support for Business, Spain
Ahmed Rahhou, President, Economic Affairs and Strategic Projects, CESE, Director, Business Climate and PPP, Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises
Edward Scicluna, Minister for Finance, Malta
21:00 – 23:00
Closing dinner
Speakers

Abdelaziz Ait Ali
Economist, OCP Policy Center

Karim El Aynaoui
Managing Director, OCP Policy Center

Hakim Ben Hammouda
Former Minister of Finance, Tunisia

Samir Benmakhlouf
Director General, Microsoft Morocco

Dominique Bocquet
General Finance and Economic Controller, Ministry of Finance, France

Marek Dabrowski
Non-Resident Fellow

Uri Dadush
Non-Resident Fellow

Laura El-Katiri
Reseach Fellow, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies

Karim El Mokri
Senior Economist, OCP Policy Center

Iñigo Fernandez de Mesa
State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Support for Business, Spain

Manfred Hafner
Coordinator of Energy Scenarios and Policy Programme, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei

Malika Laasri Lahou
CEO for Morocco, Education for Employment

Ted Moran
Georgetown University and Non Resident Fellow, PIIE

Mehmet Öğütçü
Chairman, Bosphorus Energy Club
Nicolò Russo Perez
Head, International Affairs Program, Compagnia di San Paolo
Marco Raganella
Head of Business Development Maghreb, Enel Green Power S.p.A.
Ahmed Rahhou
President, Economic Affairs and Strategic Projects, CESE, Director, Business Climate and PPP, Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises

Stefano Sacchi
Professor, University of Milan and Special Commissioner, ISFOL, Rome

Edward Scicluna
Minister for Finance, Malta

Simone Tagliapietra
Senior Fellow

Heliodoro Temprano Arroyo
Head of Unit "Neighbourhood Countries and Macro-Financial Assistance", European Commission, DG ECFIN

Guntram B. Wolff
Former Director

Georg Zachmann
Senior Fellow

Daniela Zampini
Employment Specialist, International Labour Office

Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly
Country Director for the Maghreb, World Bank

Chiedu Osakwe
Director of Accessions, WTO
Location & Contact

Matilda Sevón
[email protected] +32 2 227 4212