It is my great pleasure to invite you to the 2013 Bank of Korea International Conference in Seoul on June 3-4. The main theme of this year’s conference is “Assessing Global Liquidity in a Global Framework.”
The global financial crisis has thrust global liquidity into prominence as a key issue for policymakers and academia. Excesses or shortages of global liquidity, funneled through the invigorated cross-border financial linkages, have much greater impacts on economic growth and inflation as well as financial markets.
Despite the heightened importance of global liquidity, the lack of a general consensus on its most appropriate definition, measures, and roles could lead to ineffective and undesirable policy responses in the global economy as well as an individual economy. Global liquidity conditions are determined by interactions among a variety of drivers both on the supply and demand sides, and in the official and private sectors. In addition, the associated mechanisms amplify and transmit global liquidity to the real and financial sectors in each country or region.
Bearing all this in mind, we will probe definitions, measures, and roles of global liquidity; discuss new perspectives on transmission mechanisms; draw lessons from regional and country experiences; and look into policy challenges from a global standpoint. We will also benefit from sharing best wisdom on the international coordination of policies for global liquidity and robust growth. This will offer a good chance to achieve a better understanding of global liquidity in empirical as well as theoretical aspects, and to seek out policy solutions from a balanced perspective in response to changes in global liquidity.
I am sure that conference participants can look forward to lively and seminal discussions. Also, I hope that this conference may help the policy community and academia move toward enhancing international understanding and cooperation on global economic issues of great importance. Taking this opportunity, I would again like to express my deep gratitude to Professors Thomas J. Sargent and Barry Eichengreen for their dedicated efforts as the distinguished advisors and conference organizers for the Bank of Korea.
I bid you all a welcome and wish you a pleasant and memorable stay in Seoul.
- Choongsoo Kim
- Governor
- The Bank of Korea
