www.szgerzensee.ch
Foundation of the Swiss National Bank
CENTRAL BANKERS PROGRAM 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introductory Message
3
Courses
3 – 10
Lecturers
11 – 15
Administration and Finance
16
Admission16
Location16
1
Photos: Corinne Conti Ambühl
Design: Manuela Gilomen, Peter Gaffuri AG
Central Bankers Program 2014
INTRODUCTORY MESSAGE
The Study Center Gerzensee, Foundation of
the Swiss National Bank, opened its doors in
1986 to serve as an international training,
research and conference center for central
bankers and economists. The Center is located in an old manor in the heart of Switzerland. High-ranking members of the Swiss National Bank, the Swiss Government as well as
the Swiss economic community serve on its
Foundation Council and its Advisory Committee for Education and Training. The faculty is
composed of the Study Center’s own teach-
ing staff as well as external, internationally
renowned lecturers and specialists from the
Swiss National Bank and other institutions.
Central bank staff representing more than
one hundred and fifty central banks has participated in our Central Bankers Courses over
the last decades. Grateful for this strong interest and the long-standing cooperation,
we continually strive to offer courses of the
highest quality, covering important topics of
direct relevance for central bankers.
In the coming year, the Study Center Gerzensee is pleased to offer seven courses for central bank economists from all over the world.
This brochure describes the courses and their
lecturers and provides administrative information.
We hope that you find the course program
attractive, and are looking forward to welcoming you in Gerzensee!
Prof. Dirk Niepelt
Director
COURSES
The following courses are offered in 2014
Inflation Forecasting and Monetary Policy,
jointly with Swiss National Bank
February 3 – 14
Monetary Policy, Exchange Rates,
and Capital Flows
March 3 – 20
Advanced Topics in Macroeconometrics
March 24 – April 4
Financial Stability, jointly with
Swiss National Bank
April 28 – May 9
Monetary Policy and Commodity Prices, jointly with the Norges Bank
June 16 – 27
All courses are offered free of charge. Participants must be fluent in English since no
translation is provided.
A large variety of teaching methods is used
in the courses, taking full advantage of the
small class size and the infrastructure at the
Center. Generally, each topic is introduced
in a classroom lecture. Special emphasis is
placed on individual preparation. Group
work, case studies, computer exercises, and
discussions are intended to deepen the understanding of the various subjects. As several of the topics require formal analysis, a
background in mathematics and statistics is
recommended. In the Study Center’s library,
a wide selection of books and journals is
available. The exchange of ideas among participants from different countries consistently
proves to be a highly valuable experience.
Furthermore, the activities at the Center are
typically complemented by a visit to the Swiss
National Bank or the Bank for International
Settlements.
Excursions to beautiful areas of Switzerland
provide a welcome change to the course
work.
Advanced Topics in Monetary Economics
August 18 – 29
Instruments of Financial Markets, jointly with
Swiss Finance Institute
September 15 – October 2
3
www.szgerzensee.ch
INFLATION FORECASTING AND MONETARY POLICY
Pierpaolo Benigno
LUISS Guido Carli, Rome
Angelo Ranaldo
University of St. Gallen
Experts from the Swiss National Bank
Lecturers and staff
of the Study Center
4
FEBRUARY 3 – 14, 2014
This two-week course provides an in-depth
analysis of central bank policies aimed at
controlling inflation and stabilizing economic
fluctuations. Special emphasis will be given
to the economic tools to forecast inflation.
The first part of the course, taught by Professor Pierpaolo Benigno, is devoted to macroeconomic models. Specific topics include the
role of inflation targeting in New-Keynesian
Models, monetary policy with near zero interest rates, as well as model and parameter uncertainty. The second part of the course provides an applied review of time series techniques such as vector autoregressions, vector
error correction models, and techniques to
evaluate the forecasting ability of time series
models. The third part of the course discusses
the possibility to extract inflation forecasts
and expectations from indicators and price
developments on financial markets. The final
part, taught by staff of the inflation forecasting unit of the Swiss National Bank, will review some examples of the models used during the inflation forecasting process.
The course is designed for staff members
working closely with the policy or research
aspects of controlling and forecasting inflation. The ideal age is between 30 and 40
years. Some years of professional experience
in the central bank are a precondition for attending the course. Candidates with a Ph.D.
will be preferred. Participants with a Master
degree may be accepted.
Central Bankers Program 2014
MONETARY POLICY, EXCHANGE RATES, AND CAPITAL FLOWS
Philippe Bacchetta
University of Lausanne
Giancarlo Corsetti
University of Cambridge
Philipp Harms
University of Mainz
Experts from the
Swiss National Bank
Lecturers and staff
of the Study Center
MARCH 3 – 20, 2014
This three-week course reviews the basics
of monetary policy in open economies and
examines recent issues related to exchange
rates, capital flows, and monetary policy in
open economies.
The first part of the course reviews the basics
of international monetary economics such as
the link between exchange rates and prices,
exchange rates and interest rates, exchange
rate regimes, and international capital flows.
We study the effects of monetary policy in
the open economy and analyze the choice
of exchange rate regime. In the second part
of the course, we examine in detail some
recent topics related to exchange rates and
monetary policy. These topics include financial crises, dollarization, global financial imbalances, and the performance of exchange
rate regimes.
A sizable part of the course is dedicated to
the usage of empirical techniques applied to
specific issues related to exchange rates and
monetary policy. In particular, the first week
includes a review of statistical concepts and
computational techniques, as well as an introduction to the software package Eviews.
In addition, participants will be taught basic
econometric methods ranging from ordinary
least squares to more advanced techniques
such as vector autoregression (VAR) analysis.
In addition to the general lectures, experts
from the Swiss National Bank explain the
conduct of monetary policy in Switzerland.
The major topics are: the strategy of monetary policy and its economic effects, the role
of the exchange rate for monetary policy, the
practical implementation of monetary policy,
and the management of foreign exchange
reserves.
The course is designed for staff members
in middle management positions of central
banks. The ideal age is between 30 and 40
years. Some years of professional experience
in the central bank are a precondition for
attending the course. Applicants holding a
university degree in economics are preferred.
We expect participants to be familiar with elementary mathematics and statistics.
5
www.szgerzensee.ch
ADVANCED TOPICS IN MACROECONOMETRICS
Harald Uhlig
University of Chicago
David DeJong
University of Pittsburgh
Staff of the Study Center
MARCH 24 – APRIL 4, 2014
This two-week course reviews recent empirical methods in monetary economics.
The first week is taught by Professor Harald
Uhlig. This mini-course investigates the interrelationship between financial markets and
macroeconomics, presenting some recent developments in that literature. We start from
a log-linearized perspective on asset pricing
and macroeconomic dynamics, including Epstein-Zin preferences and large disasters. We
discuss the Atkeson-Eisfeldt-Weill measure
of aggregate financial distress. Next we turn
to DSGE models incorporating financial frictions. Finally, we turn to models which give
rise to systemic crises. Code will be distributed and discussed, enabling participants to
pursue further quantitative research on some
of these topics.
Professor David DeJong teaches the second
week and will focus on the empirical implementation of DSGE models. His lectures will
be organized around the following empirical
exercise. Beginning with a model environment, a non-linear expectational system of
difference equations is derived using Bell-
6
man’s Principle of Optimality. The system is
then approximated (using linear and nonlinear representations), taking the form of a
state-space representation. Appropriate data
are then identified and aligned with their
theoretical counterparts (often by removing
trends and isolating cycles). Finally, the likelihood function associated with the statespace representation is evaluated using a filtering procedure.
In general, formal lectures will be given during the morning. The afternoon sessions are
used for exercises, group projects, and individual reading. Participants will have extensive opportunity to work on concrete problems and data sets using statistical software
and to discuss their results during the classes.
They will be offered the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the way DSGE models are constructed and solved (computed).
Participants will also have an opportunity to
present their own research.
The course is directed to research economists
with a Ph.D. degree. Candidates with master’s degree may also be considered if their
mathematical and statistical skills are at the
Ph.D. level.
Central Bankers Program 2014
FINANCIAL STABILITY
Philippe Bacchetta
University of Lausanne
Martin Gonzalez-Eiras
University of Copenhagen
Michael Rockinger
University of Lausanne
Ernst-Ludwig von Thadden
University of Mannheim
Experts from the Swiss National Bank
Lecturers and staff
of the Study Center
APRIL 28 – May 9, 2014
This two-week course is organized in collaboration with the Swiss National Bank, Financial
Stability and Oversight. It provides an introduction to financial stability, crisis prediction,
prevention and management. The perspective is of a central banker who is interested
in the stability of the financial system as a
whole, rather than in the solvency of an individual financial institution. We will focus on
the structures and mechanisms that cause or
propagate financial disturbances and on the
policy instruments for preventing or fighting crises. The course combines micro- and
macro-economic concepts with the practical
application of statistical and empirical tools.
During the first week, we will introduce the
theory and empirics of financial instability.
We will review (i) fundamental micro-economic issues such as banking system vulnerability, contagion and systemic risk, (ii) recent
research on macro-economic aspects of financial instability and (iii) how financial inno-
vations have brought by financial instability.
The second week is devoted to the practical
application of the basic concepts. Speakers from different institutions will discuss (i)
methods of forecasting and preventing instability and (ii) approaches to manage and resolve an ongoing crisis (with due attention to
institutional and legal and practical aspects).
During the whole course, participants will
deepen their understanding in daily exercise
sessions. Participant groups will also work on
a key topic and will present their results at
the end of the course.
Experts from the Swiss National Bank will discuss current financial stability issues.
The course is designed for economists in either research functions or middle management positions, preferably with a few years
professional experience. Candidates with a
Ph.D. are preferred; participants with a Master degree may be accepted. The ideal age is
between 30 and 40 years.
7
www.szgerzensee.ch
MONETARY POLICY AND COMMODITY PRICES, JOINTLY WITH THE NORGES BANK
Jeffrey Frankel
Harvard University
Michael Rockinger
University of Lausanne
Experts from the
Swiss National Bank and the
Central Bank of Norway
Lecturers and Staff
of the Study Center
JUNE 16 – 27, 2014
This two-week course focuses on the challenges of conducting monetary policy in
countries whose trade balance is driven by
the export of commodities such as minerals
resources, oil, gas, etc.
The first part of the course will be devoted to
reviewing the basic concepts from monetary
economics and international finance that
are relevant for commodity rich countries.
In particular, this includes the price theory
of non-renewable resources, basic exchange
rate theory, and simple models of conducting
monetary policy in open economies.
In the second part of the course, the focus
turns to the role of finance and financial instruments in commodities markets. There will
be a discussion on the factors driving booms
and busts in commodity prices as well as explaining their volatility. Given the very peculiar
time-series behaviour of commodity prices, it
will be shown how to value derivatives in such
an environment. We will also consider how
financial derivatives could be used to hedge
against commodity price variations.
8
The third part of the course focuses on the
interaction between commodity prices, exchange rates, and the macroeconomic environment. Topics to be covered include,
among other things, the trends and cycles in
real commodity prices, the natural resource
curse, the factors influencing the choice of an
exchange rate regime, and the role of alternative nominal anchors for monetary policy.
Experts from the Norges Bank (Central Bank
of Norway) and the Swiss National Bank also
contribute to the program, emphasizing practical aspects in their presentations.
The course is designed for staff members
in middle management positions of central
banks in commodity rich countries. The ideal
age is between 30 and 40 years. A university
degree in economics, or a closely related field,
and some years of professional experience in
the central bank are a precondition for attending the course. We expect participants to
be familiar with elementary mathematics and
statistics.
Central Bankers Program 2014
ADVANCED TOPICS IN MONETARY ECONOMICS
Lawrence Christiano
Northwestern University
Carl Walsh
University of California, Santa Cruz
Experts from the
Swiss National Bank
Staff of the Study Center
AUGUST 18 – 29, 2014
This two-week course discusses theories and
quantitative methods needed to undertake
policy analyses with Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) models.
The first week of the course, taught by Professor Carl E. Walsh, will focus on recent research in monetary economics with lessons
directly relevant for monetary policy. We
will discuss the design of optimal monetary
policies, robustness, the consequences of the
zero lower bound for monetary policy, unconventional monetary policies, policy issues
arising in open economies, the integration
of modern theories of unemployment into
policy models, and fiscal and monetary policy
interactions. Morning sessions will be in a
lecture format, while afternoon sessions will
involve computer exercises, opportunities for
participants to discuss their own work, and
discussions of current issues facing monetary
policy makers.
The second week is taught by Professor Lawrence Christiano. The course gives an overview of the tools needed to conduct empirical research using vector autoregressions
(VARs) and DSGE models. The course begins
with an introduction to Bayesian economet-
rics and a survey of recent advances in the
analysis of structural VARs. It then discusses
solution and approximation methods for
DSGE models as well as quantitative analysis
with calibrated DSGE models. We will consider extensions of the standard New Keynesian DSGE model to include financial frictions.
The most prominent approach is based on
the costly state verification idea of Townsend
and introduced to DSGE models by Bernanke, Gertler and Gilchrist. We will review the
micro-foundations of this approach, as well
as the impact on estimation and inference of
a New Keynesian model. Other approaches
to financial frictions may also be considered,
such as the recent analysis in Gertler and Kiyotaki. Time permitting, we could consider
other topics, such as the interaction of monetary policy and boom-bust cycles and the
introduction of unemployment into DSGE
models. The course will primarily follow a lecture format, but there will also be computer
sessions that will feature the use of Dynare to
estimate DSGE models and study monetary
policy questions.
The course is directed to research economists
with a Ph.D. degree. Candidates with master’s degree may also be considered if their
mathematical and statistical skills are at the
Ph.D. level.
9
www.szgerzensee.ch
INSTRUMENTS OF FINANCIAL MARKETS
Philippe Bacchetta
University of Lausanne
Amit Goyal
University of Lausanne
Michel A. Habib
University of Zurich
Erwan Morellec
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Michael Rockinger
University of Lausanne
Experts from the
Swiss National Bank and the
Bank for International Settlements
Lecturers and staff
of the Study Center
SEPTEMBER 15 – OCTOBER 2, 2014
This course, organized jointly with the Swiss
Finance Institute, provides an introduction
to financial instruments and the analysis of
capital markets. We take the view of a central
banker who needs to understand financial
instruments both in terms of their economic
role and their actual use. Particular emphasis will be given to how banks and financial
institutions should use these instruments to
protect themselves against risks.
During the first week of the course, we review fundamental aspects of finance, including concepts such as asset returns, market efficiency, portfolio theory and CAPM. We then
take a macroeconomic perspective and analyze the interaction between monetary policy
and financial markets. We also examine the
foreign exchange market as well as issues related to financial crises.
During the second week, we start with a discussion of futures contracts in general. During this discussion, we will discover the arbitrage principle, a most important concept for
risk management and the pricing of financial
assets. We move on with a survey of fixed income assets and review important basic concepts such duration, convexity, and immunization. We learn how to infer from bond
prices information on the term structure of
10
interest rates and default probabilities. We
use the Banc One case study to conduct an
in-depth analysis of immunization.
The preceding survey provides the background for an in-depth analysis of advanced
financial instruments in the third week of the
course as well as an understanding of when
and how these instruments should be used
for risk management. We review and discuss
the characteristics of derivative assets such
as options. Several practical exercises, based
on actual data, allow participants to become
more familiar with these instruments. In the
section on risk-management we will discuss
concepts such as value at risk as well as expected shortfall.
Experts from the Bank for International Settlements and the Swiss National Bank also
contribute to the program, emphasizing
practical aspects in their presentations.
The course is designed for staff members
in middle management positions of central
banks. The ideal age is between 30 and 40
years. Several years of professional experience in the central bank are a precondition
for attending the course. Applicants holding
a university degree in economics or business
are preferred. We expect the participants to
be familiar in using mathematics and statistics.
Central Bankers Program 2014
LECTURERS
EXTERNAL lecturers
Philippe Bacchetta
Philippe Bacchetta is Swiss Finance Institute
professor of economics at the University of
Lausanne and a research fellow of the Centre
for Economic Policy Research (CEPR, London).
He was director of the Study Center Gerzensee from 1998 to 2007. He received his Ph.D.
and M.A. in economics from Harvard University and his B.A. and M.S. in economics from the
University of Lausanne. Philippe Bacchetta has
been an assistant professor at Brandeis University, USA, at ESADE and the Instituto de Análisis Económico, both in Barcelona. He has also
taught at the University of Geneva, the Univer-
sitat Pompeu Fabra, the Paris School of Economics, the University of Freiburg (Germany),
the Universitat Autonoma of Barcelona, and
CEMFI in Madrid. He has been visiting scholar
at Harvard University, the IMF and the NBER
and an academic consultant at various central
banks. In 2010 he was Duisenberg Research
Fellow at the European Central Bank. He is
president of the Swiss Society of Economics
and Statistics and a fellow of the European
Economic Association. His research interests
include open economy macroeconomics, financial crises, and monetary economics.
Pierpaolo Benigno
Pierpaolo Benigno is professor of economics
at LUISS Guido Carli. He is Research Fellow of
CEPR (Centre for Economic Policy Research)
and EIEF (Einaudi Institute for Economics and
Finance). He holds a degree in economics
from Bocconi University and a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton. He previously taught
at New York University and Columbia University. Pierpaolo Benigno areas of research are
open-economy macroeconomics and monetary economics. He has published articles in
leading academic journal, and is currently coeditor of the International Journal of Central
Banking. Lawrence Christiano
Lawrence J. Christiano is the Alfred W. Chase
Professor of business institutions in the department of economics at Northwestern University. He is a consultant at several Federal Reserve
Banks and has been a regular visitor to the
European Central Bank and the International
Monetary Fund. He is a fellow of the Econometric Society and has been associate editor
of several journals. He has published widely in
the areas of macroeconomics and applied time
series analysis.
Giancarlo Corsetti
Giancarlo Corsetti is professor of macroeconomics at the University of Cambridge (previously at the European University Institute, the
University of Rome III, Bologna, and Yale). His
research is focused on international dimensions of economic policy. His contributions
range from theoretical and empirical work on
fiscal and monetary policy, to analyses of currency and financial crises and their internation-
al contagion. He has published articles in leading academic journal, and is currently co-editor
of the Journal of International Economics and
the International Journal of Central Banking.
Professor Corsetti has long developed research
collaboration with monetary authorities and
policy institutions in Europe and overseas. He
is Program Director at the Centre for Economic
Policy Research in London.
Jeffrey Frankel
Jeffrey Frankel is James W. Harpel Professor of
Capital Formation and Growth at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He
directs the program in International Finance
and Macroeconomics at the National Bureau
of Economic Research, where he is also on
the Business Cycle Dating Committee, which
officially declares recessions. He served at the
Council of Economic Advisers in 1983-84 and
1996-99. As CEA Member appointed by President Clinton, Frankel’s responsibilities included
international economics, macroeconomics,
and the environment. Before moving East, he
had been Professor of Economics at the Uni-
versity of California, Berkeley. He currently
serves as a foreign member of the Monetary
Policy Committee of the Bank of Mauritius
and on advisory panels for the Federal Reserve
Banks of New York and Boston, the Peterson
Institute for International Economics, and the
Bureau of Economic Analysis. His research interests include international finance, currencies, monetary and fiscal policy, commodities,
regional blocs, and global environmental issues. He was born in San Francisco, graduated
from Swarthmore College, and received his
Economics PhD from MIT.
11
www.szgerzensee.ch
12
Martín Gonzalez-Eiras
Martín Gonzalez-Eiras is associate professor
of economics at the University of Copenhagen. He holds a PhD in economics from MIT,
and has been on the faculty of Universidad de
San Andres (Argentina) and Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (Chile). He held visiting positions at
IIES, Study Center Gerzensee, and Columbia
University. He has research interests in macroeconomics, political economy, public finance
and banking. He has papers published in the
Journal of Monetary Economics, European
Economic Review and Review of Economic
Dynamics. He has been a consultant at the
IADB and has received a variety of grants and
awards, including the GDN First Prize Medal
in Financial Markets and a Fulbright research
grant. Amit Goyal
Amit Goyal is a professor of finance at HEC
Lausanne. Formerly on the faculty of Emory
University (Atlanta, USA), he holds a Ph.D. in
finance from University of California at Los
Angeles. He has research interests in empirical asset pricing, predictability of stock returns,
portfolio optimization, and pension funds. His
papers have been published in a variety of
academic journals including the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial Economics, and
the Review of Financial Studies.
Michel Habib
Michel Habib is professor of finance at the
Swiss Banking Institute of the University of
Zurich. His research interests are corporate finance and the theory of the firm. His research
has appeared in a number of academic and
practitioner publications, such as the Journal
of Business, the Journal of Finance, the Review
of Financial Studies, and the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance. He directs the NCCR
FINRISK. He is a graduate of McGill University
and the Wharton School of the University of
Pennsylvania and was associate professor of
finance at the London Business School prior to
joining the University of Zurich.
Philipp Harms
Philipp Harms is professor of economics at
the University of Johannes Gutenberg Mainz
(Germany) and joined the Study Center Gerzensee in September 2002. Before receiving
his doctorate in economics from the University of St. Gallen in 1999, he attended the
Program for Doctoral Students at Gerzensee
and spent a year as a visiting graduate student
at the University of Maryland. Upon graduation, he joined the faculty of the University of
Konstanz (Germany) where he worked as an
assistant professor from 1999 through 2004.
He also taught classes in macroeconomics and
monetary economics at the Universities of St.
Gallen and Lausanne, and from 2004 through
2010 he was professor of macroeconomics at
RWTH Aachen University (Germany). His main
research areas are international economics,
macroeconomics and political economy.
David N. DeJong
David N. DeJong earned his Bachelor of Arts
degree, summa cum laude, from Central College in Iowa in 1985, and his doctorate from
the University of Iowa in 1989, both in economics. He joined the University of Pittsburgh
as an Assistant Professor in Arts and Sciences
Department of Economics in 1989. He was
promoted to Professor in 2001 and he served
as Department Chair from 2006-2010. Currently he serves as Vice Provost for Academic
Planning and Resources Management. He has
also served as a Visiting Professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna, DiTella
University in Buenos Aires, and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Kiel, Germany.
DeJong’s research focuses on macroeconom-
ics, econometrics, and transition economics.
He specifically focuses on the formal statistical implementation of theoretical models for
the purpose of analyzing and forecasting aggregate economic activity. His research has
been supported by grants from the National
Science Foundation and the National Council
for Eurasian and East European Research, and
has been published in top general-interest and
field journals. In addition to publishing more
than 40 published refereed journal articles,
he is the coauthor of the textbook Structural
Macroeconomics (Princeton University Press,
2007). He also served as Associate Editor of
the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics
from 2000 to 2006.
Central Bankers Program 2014
Erwan Morellec
Erwan Morellec is Swiss Finance Institute professor and professor of finance at EPFL (Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology), Switzerland.
Formerly on the faculties of the University of
Rochester (USA) and of the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), he holds a Ph.D. in finance
from HEC Paris. He is project director for the
Swiss National Science Foundation, the head
of the Swiss Finance Institute (SFI) Doctoral
Program, and a CEPR research fellow. He has
research interests in corporate finance and asset pricing. His papers have been published in
a variety of academic journals including the
Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial
Economics, the Review of Financial Studies,
the Journal of Business, and the Journal of
Economic Theory.
Angelo Ranaldo
Angelo Ranaldo is Full Professor of Finance
and Systemic Risk at the University of St.Gallen
and Member of the Board of the Swiss Institute for Banking and Finance s/bf-HSG and
of the School of Finance. His field of rields
of research are systemic risk, market microstructure, international finance, asset pricing,
monetary policy and public debt management. His research papers in these fields are
well-documented through many publications
in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, as in Journal of Finance, Review of Finance, Journal of
Money Credit and Banking, Journal of Financial & Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Banking and Finance, and Journal of International
Money & Finance. Before joining the University
of St.Gallen, he worked for several years as an
economic advisor and member of senior man-
agement at the Swiss National Bank (SNB). His
professional experience also includes a visiting position as Senior Economist at the Federal Reserve of New York and several years in
the banking areas of asset allocation and risk
management. After completing his undergraduate and master studies at the University Bocconi, he obtained his doctoral degree
from the University of Fribourg. He also was
as a visiting scholar at the New York University – Stern School of Business. His teaching
experience includes several lectures at the
university of Fribourg and Zurich as well as a
visiting professorship at Aarhus University in
Denmark. Angelo completed his «habilitation»
at the University of Zurich in 2010 where he
is still a (external) lecturer («Privatdozent»).
Michael Rockinger
Michael Rockinger is professor of finance at
HEC Lausanne and a member of the Swiss Finance Institute. He is a former scientific consultant of the Banque de France. He earned
a Ph.D. in economics at Harvard University after graduating in mathematics from the Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology. Recently he
published a 540 pages book on how to model
“Non-Gaussian Finance” with Springer. He
has extensively published in international jour-
nals. Michael Rockinger has also been a visiting professor at the New Economic School in
Moscow, the London Business School, Amos
Tuck Business School at Dartmouth College,
as well as at the University of California San
Diego. His research interests are split in three
strands: the information content of financial
derivative instruments, finance in emerging
markets, as well as empirical aspects of market
microstructure.
Ernst-Ludwig von Thadden
Ernst-Ludwig von Thadden is professor of Microeconomics and Finance at the University
of Mannheim. He was previously professor of
economics at the Département d’Econométrie
et Economie Politique at the University of
Lausanne. He obtained his Ph.D. in economics
at the University of Bonn within the “European Doctoral Program in Economics” in 1991,
after an undergraduate degree in mathematics
and economics at the university of Heidelberg
and M.Phil. studies at the London School of
Economics. He is research fellow at the Center
for Economic Policy Research (London), fellow of the European Economic Association,
and former resident fellow of the Center for
Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences
in Stanford. He was director of the doctoral
program of the International Center FAME at
the Universities of Lausanne and Geneva and
director of the Graduate School in Economic
and Social Sciences at Mannheim University.
He has been a co-organiser of the European
Summer Symposium in Financial Markets,
board member of several journals and a consultant to the World Bank and other international institutions. His research covers corporate finance, banking, international finance,
political economy, and contract theory.
13
www.szgerzensee.ch
14
Harald Uhlig
Harald Uhlig is Professor at the Department of
Economics of the University of Chicago since
2007 and was chairman of that department
from 2009 to 2012. Previously, he held positions at Princeton, Tilburg University and the
Humboldt Universität Berlin. He served as coeditor of Econometrica from 2006 to 2010,
and is current co-editor of the JPE, since April
2012. He is a consultant of the Bundesbank
and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He
chaired the CEPR business cycle dating committee from 2005 to 2012. He is a fellow of
the Economic Society, a recipient of the Gossen Preis of the Verein für Socialpolitik and is
a member of the CEPR and the NBER. Harald
Uhlig is a specialist in applied quantitative
theory and applied quantitative methods in
economics. Uhlig’s research interests include
macroeconomics, business cycles, financial
markets, economic policy and Bayesian time
series analysis. In particular, he is interested in
studying the interrelation of macroeconomics
and financial markets, and the role of monetary and fiscal policy.
Casper G. de Vries
Casper G. de Vries holds the chair of monetary
economics at the Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam and heads
the risk management program at the Duisenberg School of Finance. He is a fellow and
board member of the Tinbergen Institute, is
a member of the EMU Monitor group and he
has served as vice dean of research and education at the Erasmus School of Economics. His
graduate training was at Purdue University after which he has held positions at Texas A&M
University and K.U. Leuven. He has been visiting scholar at several European and American research institutes and has been academic
consultant for pension funds and central
banks. Casper G. de Vries’s research interests
are focused on international monetary issues,
like foreign exchange rate determination and
exchange rate risk, the issues surrounding the
Euro, financial markets risk, risk management
and systemic risk. In his research on financial
risks, he has specialized in calculating the risks
on extreme events by means of statistical extreme value analysis. Other research interests
are applied game theory; in particular contest
and auction theory which can be applied to
the theory of lobbying. He has published widely in leading internationally refereed journals.
Carl Walsh
Carl E. Walsh is Distinguished Professor of economics at the University of California, Santa
Cruz and a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. In addition to
numerous journal articles, he is the author of
Monetary Theory and Policy, a graduate level
text on monetary economics. He is a past
member of the board of editors of the American Economic Review and is currently a coeditor of the International Journal of Central
Banking as well as a member of the editorial
boards of several other journals.
Central Bankers Program 2014
LECTURERS OF THE STUDY CENTER
Filippo Brutti
Filippo Brutti is lecturer at the Study Center
Gerzensee and holds a post-doctoral research
fellow at the department of economics, University of Zurich. He received his Ph.D. from
Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona in
2010. His research interests are in the areas of
international macroeconomics, financial frictions and public finance.
Nils Herger
Nils Herger is lecturer at the Study Center Gerzensee and the University of Bern. He studied
for a B.A. in economics at the Universities of
Bern and Neuchâtel and has received a M.Sc.
and Ph.D. in economics from the University of
Exeter (United Kingdom). Before taking up his
current position at the Study Center, he has
worked as an economic advisor for the Swiss
Competition Commission and the Swiss Business Federation. Research interests cover various topics in international finance including
the role of trade finance, FDI and the multinational firm, as well as financial development
issues.
Sylvia Kaufmann
Sylvia Kaufmann is Deputy Director of the
Study Center Gerzensee and lecturer at the
University of Basel. She is member of the
monetary theory and policy committee and
the econometrics committee of the Verein für
Socialpolitik. Sylvia Kaufmann received her habilitation from the University of Basel, where
she stayed as Visiting Scholar and Visiting
Professor on several occasions. She holds a licentiate and a doctorate from the University
of Bern. After her dissertation, she became
Assistant Professor at the University of Vienna.
As consultant, she worked for the Economic
Analysis Division of the Austrian Central Bank,
before joining the Austrian Central Bank as
Research Economist in the Economic Studies
Division. Previous to joining the Study Center
she was Senior Staff member of the Swiss National Bank in the Inflation Forecasting Unit.
Her research interests include macroeconomics, monetary policy, applied time series econometrics.
15
www.szgerzensee.ch
ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
The Study Center Gerzensee invites Central
Banks to nominate candidates to attend the
individual courses. These courses are free of
charge and include room and full board at
the Study Center Gerzensee. However, the
sponsoring institution must cover travel costs
to Switzerland and back. Furthermore, it is
highly recommended that participants have
adequate funds for shopping, personal trips,
telephone calls and the like. Before coming
to Switzerland, the participant is responsible
to obtain visas for his/her entire trip (including transit destinations).
Accommodation is offered in single rooms
in our lodging facility and is for participants
only. Please be aware that participants are
not allowed to bring along their families or
any other accompanying persons. We cater
to special diets required for health reasons.
All participants can choose between regular
and vegetarian meals served at our own restaurant.
Insurance covering medical and hospital expenses is provided in case of unforeseen illness or accident. Participants are not insured
against illness resulting from pre-existing
conditions. The sponsoring institution therefore certifies that, immediately prior to the
course, the participants are not suffering
from any medical condition that could prevent their full attendance during the course.
The sponsoring institution also certifies that
it will reimburse the Study Center Gerzensee
for all expenses incurred as a result of any
pre-existing medical condition. Furthermore,
we do not assume any liability for the participants’ personal belongings.
Applications for our courses should be sent
together with a recommendation letter either
by post or courier and must be received by October 15, 2013. An electronic version of the
application and recommendation letter form
can be downloaded on the Study Center’s
homepage www.szgerzensee.ch/courses/central-bankers/administration-admission/. Late
applications and applications sent by fax or
email will not be considered. All mail should
be addressed to: Study Center Gerzensee,
Central Bankers Courses, Dorfstrasse 2, P.O.
Box 21, CH-3115 Gerzensee, Switzerland.
The sponsoring central bank will be informed
about the decision of the Admissions Committee by December 2013. You may contact the
Study Center Gerzensee using:
Telephone
+41 31 780 3102
Fax
+41 31 780 3100
Internethttp://www.szgerzensee.ch
E-Mailsusanne.senn@szgerzensee.ch
ADMISSION
Only one application per course may be submitted from each central bank. Please be
aware that we cannot guarantee acceptance
to each course, as places are limited. Candidates who have already attended one of our
Central Bankers Courses will unfortunately not
be considered again.
The applicant must be sponsored by the respective central bank which certifies that the
applicant, if accepted,
- will receive leave of absence with regular
pay for the duration of the entire course
- will be given no duties or assignments that
might conflict with his/her participation
- is able to express himself/herself in English
fluently
LOCATION
STUDY CENTER GERZENSEE
P.O. Box 21, CH-3115 Gerzensee, Switzerland
Phone +41 31 780 31 31, Fax +41 31 780 31 00
studienzentrum@szgerzensee.ch
16