11th CompNet-EIB-ENRI Annual Conference

Our economies continue to experience important challenges: Slow productivity growth, declining labor shares, inequality, falling investment rates, declines in business dynamism, and the rise of multinational firms capable of dominating product and factor markets. These secular trends present challenges to our market economies and raise questions about the nature of competition, and the ability of our economies to innovate, adjust and respond to the challenges ahead. The COVID-19 pandemic and the urgency of the climate transition are examples of the pressing need for firms and economies to adjust their strategies.

This adjustment will certainly include the acceleration of the ongoing process of digital transformation and the use of automation technologies. Moreover, it will imply critical changes in the nature of firm-worker relations, firm competition, and the functioning of labor and product markets. Bottlenecks around supply chains raise new questions about the need for directed industrial policies. Ultimately, the secular trends we are witnessing will require a thorough revisiting of industrial and labor market policies, as well as an in-depth understanding of productivity drivers and their interactions with factor and product markets.

Against this background, this conference seeks to bring together innovative research related to these challenges, aiming to provide guidance to policy. In particular, we are interested in research studies (not yet published) that focus on one or more of the following topics:

• Public and private investments in shaping the post-covid shock recovery and pushing climate and digital transition.
• The transition to net zero.
• Business dynamism and market selection: evidence and determinants.
• Technology diffusion and firm innovation.
• The impact of rising energy prices and factor costs on firm performance, innovation, consumers, and labor markets.
• Firm performance and investment in green technologies and digitalization.
• Determinants and consequences of the productivity slowdown.
• Sources of rising wage and income inequality.
• Mega-firms and their role shaping market outcomes.
• The role of global value chains for firm performance and economic resilience.

Keynote lectures are given by:

• Ufuk Akcigit (IWH and University of Chicago)
• Chad Syverson (University of Chicago)

While we are open to all studies covering the above topics, preference will be given to micro-data-based cross-country studies that jointly acknowledge the need of micro-data to answer these questions as well as the cross-country dimension of the mentioned challenges.

We aim for a Conference with around ten-twelve papers presented and discussed and two keynote lectures. Presenters may be asked to discuss a paper.

There are no conference fees. Limited funding to cover travel and accommodation costs according to CEPR rules is available upon request.

Important Deadlines:
The submission deadline is June 15, 2022. Authors will be informed latest by June 30, 2022. Please submit your paper to secretariat@comp-net.org