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To promote the research and analysis of Latvia’s and euro area’s macroeconomic issues by involving the most talented young economists in this work, Latvijas Banka has announced the annual Competition of Student Scientific Research Papers.

Most awarded papers are usually students’ bachelor’s and master’s theses covering topics concerning the Baltic or the euro area economies. See the bottom of this page for the full list of topics.

Submission of papers is open until 31 May 2025. The authors of the winning paper are awarded EUR 2500 and the total prize pot exceeds EUR 9000. 

Latvijas Banka organises the competition already for the 24rd time. Participation is open to citizens and non-citizens of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia as well as foreigners who at the time of the competition are registered as students of higher education institutions accredited in the Baltic States, enrolled in Bachelor’s or Master’s degree programmes, as well as to the students of the Baltic States studying abroad.

Visit this page for more information.

Please be invited to the upcoming Latvijas Banka’s Research seminar, to take place on 23 July 10:30-12:00, in which David Burgherr  (University of Zurich) will present his work: Saving Responses to Mandatory and Voluntary Pension Contributions

MS Teams link

Abstract. To boost retirement savings, many countries mandate worker contributions to pension accounts. This paper investigates saving responses to such mandates throughout the entire portfolio, leveraging detailed administrative tax data from Switzerland and a regression discontinuity design. I find that mandatory pension plans have limited effects on total savings, with an estimated crowd-out rate of 94%. Decomposing the saving response, I show that workers offset mandatory pension contributions by reducing private non-retirement savings, primarily in financial assets. By contrast, there is no substitution between mandatory and voluntary pension savings. Liquidity-constrained workers are less able to reduce private savings in response to mandatory contributions and therefore increase their total savings.

Please be invited to the upcoming Latvijas Banka’s Research seminar, to take place on 8 July 10:00-11:30, in which Tobias König (University of Bonn) will present his work: Wholesale Funding Crises Since 1800

MS Teams link

Please be invited to the upcoming Latvijas Banka’s Research seminar, to take place on 2 July 10:30-12:00, in which Alejandra Inzunza (Bocconi University, Central Bank of Chile) will present her work: The Chilean Pension Withdrawals and the 2025 Reform: Fiscal and Retirement Consequences?

MS Teams link

Abstract. During the COVID 19 pandemic, Chile approved three exceptional laws that allowed workers to withdraw part of their pension accounts. These withdrawals were exceptionally large by international standards. The withdrawals reached around 20% of GDP and depleted the contributory balances of millions of affiliates. Using administrative withdrawal records matched to the 2021 Chilean Household Finance Survey, we estimate that the withdrawals reduced contributory pensions by about 21% on average. The expansion of non contributory pensions in 2022 cushioned the loss in total retirement income to about 8%, although with significant fiscal costs. The Chilean pension reform of 2025 increased the future contribution rate. Our simulations show that this reduces the estimated fiscal burden from 15.8% to about 12.4% of GDP. Future policies such as increasing the retirement age could further lower this cost.

You are kindly invited to attend the Eesti Pankʼs research seminar in Teams on 26 March at 15:00, during which Eeva Kerola (Bank of Finland) and Anni Norring (IMF)  will present on “Effect of the countercyclical capital buffer on firm loans – Evidence from Germany”

The study examines how tightening the countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) in Germany affects bank lending to firms, using highly granular loan level data from the European Central Bank. Exploiting the 2022 German CCyB increase and employing a difference in differences identification strategy with Austria as the control group, the authors show that German banks reduce corporate lending volumes and raise lending rates – changes that materialize immediately after the policy announcement, well before implementation. Crucially, the tightening disproportionately affects small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), which face both reduced credit supply and higher borrowing costs, while bigger firms remain largely unaffected. The results highlight the importance of announcement effects in macroprudential policy and point to significant distributional consequences across firm sizes.

MS Teams: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/38756665760372?p=v5kB22pQlWWxArAJzn

Meeting ID: 387 566 657 603 72
Password: iC7xC2XQ

You are kindly invited to attend a research seminar on 1 April, during which Natalia Levenko (TalTech) will present on “Different paths to tax compliance: Evidence from the Theory of planned behaviour”.

MS Teams link: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/32357762860894?p=klTbhOELurveY9cBRm

You are kindly invited to attend a research seminar on 15 April at 10:00, during which John Paul Broussard will present on “What the Transcript Misses: Voice, Face, and Liquidity in Central Bank Press Conferences”.

MS Teams link: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/37809515621475?p=jU23la7PIN2tPE7dvC

You are kindly invited to attend a research seminar on 1 April at 10:00, during which Ester Eomois will present on “How Motherhood Shapes Multidimensional Embeddedness in Refugee Women’s Entrepreneurship”

MS Teams link: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/37809515621475?p=jU23la7PIN2tPE7dvC

The fourth workshop on “Advanced Quantitative Methods and Analytics for Public Policy Support” (AQMAPPS) aims at improving public policy through advanced data modelling techniques, following the previous editions in Milan (2023), Amsterdam (2024) and New York (2025).

Location: Estonian Business School, Tallinn

Dates: 15-16 September 2026

Submission deadline: 1 May 2026

The workshop is organised by the Horizon Europe BRIDGE consortium. Join the dialogue and contribute to an interdisciplinary discussion at the forefront of quantitative methods and analytics for public policy support. We particularly welcome papers aligned with the themes of the Horizon Europe BRIDGE project, including: educational participation and completion; predictors of student transitions; early-warning systems for dropout; the impact of COVID-19 on learning outcomes; international student mobility; efficiency and cost-effectiveness of education policies; and data-driven approaches to improve equity and inclusion. Methodological contributions using advanced econometrics, causal inference, machine learning, big data analytics, and choice modelling are strongly encouraged.

For more info, see EBS 4th Annual AQMAPPS Conference at Estonian Business School

In collaboration with ISM University of Management and Economics, LEIZ is pleased to announce the fourth Conference on Relational Economics and Organizational Governance. The conference will take place from 10 to 11 September 2026 in Vilnius, Lithuania, at ISM University.

Under the theme “Relational Pathways to a Global Economy,” the conference addresses disruptive developments in business, politics, and society and examines them from a relational perspective. Particular attention will be given to the emergence of new global value creation networks, processes of digitalization, evolving structures of global governance, and the rise of the new authoritarianism.

Abstracts of up to 500 words should be submitted by 1 May 2026 to jonas.stark@zu.de.

For more information, see the conference page: https://www.zeppelin-university.com/research-issues/research-centers/leiz/news/leiz-conferenze-relational-economy-en.php