EBRD Transition Report - Rebalancing Finance: Diversifying Funding for Growth

The launch of the EBRD Transition Report – EBRD’s flagship report that covers the macroeconomics of Eastern Europe will be presented by Çağatay Bircan, Principal Economist at the Office of the Chief Economist at the EBRD.

Discussants: 

Mirosław Gronicki (former Minister of Finance, Poland)
Rodolphe Blavy (IMF Europe Office)
Panicos Demetriades (University of Leicester, Academy of Social Sciences, former Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus)

Presenter: Çağatay Bircan

Çağatay Bircan is a Principal Economist at the Office of the Chief Economist at the EBRD. Prior to joining EBRD, he was an Emerging Europe, Middle East and Asia Economist and Fixed Income Strategist with Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Michigan and his main research interests are in international trade and financial development. His current research focuses on trade liberalisation and cross-border acquisitions, local financial development and entrepreneurship, and private equity investments in emerging Europe.

Panelist Discussants

Mirosław Gronicki

Currently an independent advisor and former Minister of Finance for Poland, Mr Gronicki has advised on international and local (in Poland) projects focusing on macroeconomic analysis, financial systems, economic policy and strategy development, training and human resource planning, as well as Public Finance Management focusing on macroeconomic assessment, debt management, liquidity management and computer systems in Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkmenistan and Slovak Republic, and the introduction of accrual accounting.

Rodolphe Blavy

Mr Rodolphe Blavy, Deputy Director of the European Offices of the IMF, has held a number of positions since 2001. As desk economist, he covered key policy issues for emerging markets, in particular related to macro-financial linkages and has been involved in the negotiation and monitoring of Fund-supported programs. In the context of the crisis, he joined the Strategy Unit, a group instrumental in recent IMF reforms, including new lending facilities, financing, cross-country macro and financial surveillance, governance, and the reform of the International Monetary System. In the IMF Offices in Europe since 2009, he has been dealing with crisis-related and G20 issues. Prior to his career at the Fund, Mr. Blavy worked at Lehman Brothers as a derivatives trader and at J.P. Morgan as an M&A analyst. Mr Blavy read doctoral studies at Cambridge University and is a graduate from Sciences Po in Paris and ESSEC business school.

Panicos Demetriades

Panicos Demetriades is Professor of Financial Economics at the University of Leicester and Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. During 2012-2014, he served as Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus (Euro system) and also as a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. He has published extensively in the area of finance and development, was Principal Investigator on several ESRC-funded projects and has served as a consultant to the World Bank and the OECD.
Biography (continued) >