An international conference was held in Sinaia 12 through 14 October 2006 debating a highly relevant issue for emerging economies worldwide: "Capital flows: Challenges for the monetary policy and the financial stability". The retreat was organised by the National Bank of Romania.
Among the participants were deputy governors and central bank managers from Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America and speeches were delivered by representatives of central banks from Brazil, Czech Republic, Chile, Croatia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary. The reunion was also attended by representatives of the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund. The Siena University from Italy was also represented.
The retreat was also honoured by the presence of a special guest: the Director of the Bank of England's Centre for Central Banking Studies.
Aside from the NBR delegation, the Romanian participants also included representatives of the Ministry of Public Finance, the National Institute of Statistics, the National Commission of Prognosis and the Romanian Academy's Forecast Institute.
The diversity of the participants' speeches and the ensuing debates had a major contribution to the success of the conference. Presentations focused mainly on the experience of countries having faced capital inflows and exchange rate volatility against the background of capital account liberalisation, as well as on the variety of macroeconomic policy responses adopted by the concerned economies. Moreover, ahead of euro adoption, discussions also centred on issues related to structural adjustment, wage-setting, exchange rate, fiscal and monetary policies.
Presentations on financial market integration and financial development in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe were also a topic of interest on the agenda.
The Sinaia conference was the second event in a series that the National Bank wishes to hold on a regular basis through annual reunions, given its relevance for applied economic research and the analysis of the diversity of economic policy solutions adopted by various economies, including those from outside the Central and Eastern European area.