Global Economy Lecture 2026
28 September 2026 11:00 am CEST
The International Monetary System: Current and Future Challenges
In cooperation with:
Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB)
Venue
Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB)
Otto-Wagner-Platz 3
1090 Vienna
'Veranstaltungssaal' (ground floor)
or online via Webex
Description
The Global Economy Lecture will be hosted as a hybrid event on Monday, 28 September 2026 and will focus on "The International Monetary System: Current and Future Challenges".
The International Monetary System has always been evolving and adapting to a changing global economy. This lecture starts with a review of some of the key facts about the structure of the IMS and its evolution. A central finding is that the trade network is already multipolar even as the finance network remains unipolar, centered on the dominance of the US dollar and of the US Treasuries as the global safe asset. I then review classical theories of the stability or instability of the International Monetary System and find them unable to account for these evolutions. Instead, I argue that growing domestic imbalances -from the two leading countries, the US and China- and rising geoeconomic fragmentation represent the most serious threats to global stability. I conclude by exploring whether the international financial architecture could be strengthened through the provision of synthetic reserve assets.
Speaker
Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas
Professor at UC Berkley | former Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund
Introduction
Martin Kocher
Governor of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank
Chair
Robert Stehrer
Scientific Director
The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw)
Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas is one of the world’s leading economists in international macroeconomics and finance. Formerly Chief Economist and Economic Counsellor of the International Monetary Fund (2022-2026), he is the S.K. and Angela Chan Professor of Global Management at the University of California, Berkeley, and a recognized authority on global growth, financial stability, capital flows, exchange rates, and the international monetary system.
Join us by registering by 21 September 2026, at the latest.
The Global Economy Lecture is jointly organized by the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) and The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw).
If you would like to notify OeNB of any address changes or if you would like other interested experts to receive a personal invitation, please contact the OeNB’s event management by e-mail at event-management@oenb.at.