RIETI World KLEMS Symposium

Growth Strategy after the World Financial Crisis

Announcement

Productivity is the key source of economic growth. Particularly for the economy of Japan which is facing a rapidly aging population, productivity improvement is the most important economic policy issue. In order to design effective policies to improve the economic growth rate, it is necessary to measure accurately productivity at the industry and firm level, as well as analyze the effects of factors such as IT utilization, innovation, globalization, and intangible investments on productivity.

The World KLEMS Initiative is a global effort to build databases that would make productivity data internationally comparable. It was initiated by Professor Dale W. Jorgenson of Harvard University with the participation of leading economists from around the world. The first and second conference was held at Harvard University in the United States, and this year, the third conference will be hosted by RIETI in Tokyo.

In this symposium, discussions on the theme of a growth strategy after the world financial crisis will be made from a broad perspective. In the first session, Professor Jorgenson will discuss the World KLEMS Initiative, and RIETI President Masahisa Fujita will address the evolving spatial economy of the Asia-Pacific and the growth strategy. The second half of the program will be a panel discussion, in which leading economists from Japan, Asia, Europe, and the United States will exchange their views and ideas on the following topics.
1) Can the world economy keep sustainable productivity improvement?
2) Structural change to enhance growth: Reallocation mechanisms, change in trade structure, investments in intangibles, service sector productivity, etc.
3) Risk factors for sustainable growth: Financial stability in the world economy, sustainability of government debt, instability of emerging economies, increase in energy demand, etc.

A reception will be held after the symposium courtesy of the Japan Productivity Center.

Information

  • Time and Date: 13:30-17:30, Tuesday, May 20, 2014 (Registration desk opens at 13:00)
  • Venue: JP Tower Hall & Conference (Address: 4th Fl, JP Tower KITTE, 2-7-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan) http://jptower-kitte.jp/en/
  • Languages: English and Japanese (Simultaneous interpretation service provided)
  • Admission: ¥1,000
  • Capacity: 200 (Pre-registration required by May 16, 2014. Please be aware that registration may close early if capacity is reached.)
  • Host: Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI)
  • Support: Japan Productivity Center (JPC)
  • Contact: RIETI, (Ms.) OKADA
    Tel: 03-3501-8398 Fax: 03-3501-8416

Streaming video footage and handouts pertaining to the symposium will be available for download from the RIETI website after the event. For information on RIETI's privacy policy and the use of images and videos obtained from RIETI symposiums, please visit the RIETI website at http://www.rieti.go.jp/en/privacy/portrait_right.html

Program

13:30 - 13:35 Opening Remarks

NAKAJIMA Atsushi (Chairman, RIETI)

13:35 - 14:20 Keynote Speech 1 "The World KLEMS Initiative"

Dale W. JORGENSON (Samuel W. Morris University Professor, Harvard University)

14:20 - 15:05 Keynote Speech 2 "Evolving Spatial Economy of Asia-Pacific and Growth Strategy"

FUJITA Masahisa (President and CRO, RIETI / Professor, Konan University / Adjunct Professor, Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University)

15:05 - 15:30 Break

15:30 - 17:30 Panel Discussion

Panelists (in alphabetical order):

FUKAO Kyoji (Program Director and Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Director, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University)

KIYOTAKI Nobuhiro (Professor of Economics, Princeton University)

Lawrence J. LAU (Ralph and Claire Landau Professor of Economics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Marcel TIMMER (Professor of Economic Growth and Development, University of Groningen)

Bart van ARK (Executive Vice President and Chief Economist, The Conference Board)

Moderator:

MIYAGAWA Tsutomu (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Professor, Faculty of Economics, Gakushuin University)

17:35 - Reception

*Program is subject to change.