ECB Sintra forum puts AI and growth at centre stage
The ECB opens its annual Sintra forum on Monday, with AI, productivity and Europe’s growth gap high on the agenda for central bankers and markets.
The European Central Bank (ECB) opens its annual forum in Sintra on Monday, bringing together top central bankers, economists and academics for three days of debate on how Europe can lift growth, with artificial intelligence (AI) high on the agenda. The gathering comes just weeks after the ECB raised interest rates again and could offer fresh signals on the euro zone policy outlook.
ECB President Christine Lagarde will open the 13th edition of the event, which runs until Wednesday and focuses on innovation, growth and stability. The programme includes academic papers on Europe’s productivity gap with the US, the costs and benefits of regulatory complexity for financial stability, and the economic impact of immigration across OECD countries.
One paper by Bart Van Ark argues that more than 80% of the productivity growth gap between the euro zone and the US reflects weaker performance within European industries rather than differences in economic structure, with the digital sector accounting for more than a third of the gap. Another study says post-crisis regulation has become more effective because it is more complex, while warning that complexity without sufficient rigour can hurt banks without improving financial stability.
AI will run through much of this year’s forum, including a panel with officials from the IMF, Bank of England and Apollo Global Management, as well as a discussion between OpenAI chief economist Aaron Chatterji and ECB Executive Board member Philip Lane. The final day will also cover Europe’s place in global trade and tokenisation.
The most closely watched event is likely to be the policy panel with Lagarde, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh. It will be Warsh’s first appearance at the ECB’s Sintra forum since taking over from Jerome Powell, making his remarks a key focus for markets watching the relationship between the world’s main monetary blocs.
Originally published at Eco.pt
