The Central Bank of Bosnia and Hercegovina Has Held its Annual Research Conference

The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH) held its annual research conference within the Programme of Bilateral Assistance and Capacity Building for Central Banks (BCC), financed by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The conference, titled "Informal Economy: Measurement and Effects," was held in Sarajevo on 31 October 2024.

The conference was opened by the Governor of the CBBH, Jasmina Selimović, Ph.D. and the Ambassador of Switzerland to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gabriele Derighetti, while the keynote speaker was Enrique Alberola, Advisor for Economics and Statistics at Banco de España. Governor Selimović emphasized the significance of research work as key aspect of central banks, which, unfortunately, often remains in the shadow of everyday obligations. She added that without serious research, there are no serious central banks.

The conference was organised in three sessions. The main topic of the first session was the types of measures of unregistered economy. In the second session, the focus was on the effects of unregistered economy on monetary and fiscal policies. The final session was a panel of representatives of the regional central banks, who discussed the features of the region with regard to the main topic of the conference, as well as why unregistered economy is in the focus of their central banks.  

A day before the conference, a workshop of BCC partner central banks with the topic of informal economy was held in the CBBH. In a very interactive atmosphere of the workshop, moderated by one of the most important world authorities in the field of measuring the informal economy, prof. Friedrich Schneider from Johannes Kepler University, Linz, there were discussed the effects of the informal economy on all economic areas of interest to central banks, monetary policy and financial stability.

Eight central banks and two respectable universities from abroad participated in the conference and workshop, with 15 international panellists and speakers.

The audience included representatives of regional central banks (representatives of relevant departments, such as research, monetary policy or financial stability); representatives of supranational institutions based in Bosnia and Herzegovina or from headquarters (such as the European Commission, the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, etc.); representatives of partner institutions in the area of research capacity development (such as the Graduate Institute Geneva); local institutions responsible for analytical reporting to the European Commission in the EU integration process; representatives of the local academic community (teaching staff from relevant fields for the conference topic and students at advanced study levels); financial intermediaries (leading analysts or heads of research departments) and relevant staff of the CBBH.

Once again, the CBBH thanks the government of the Swiss Confederation for the long-term support to the activities of the Central Bank, including the development of research capacities in the field of economic research.

Photos available at the link:: Informal Economy: Measurement and Effects, Sarajevo, 31. 11. 2024. | Flickr