Given the onset of the global economic crisis and the recession the world currently finds itself mired in, the launch of the new Centre for Monetary and Financial Economics (CMFE) at Carleton on June 5 is timely.
“The problems that gave rise to the current situation in the global economy and how to address them are going to be fertile areas for research for a long time. There are going to be a lot of post-mortems on this crisis,” says Charles Freedman, former deputy governor at the Bank of Canada and scholar in residence at Carleton since 2003. Freedman is co-director of the CMFE with J. Stephen Ferris, professor of economics.
By bringing together 20 accomplished Carleton researchers drawn from disciplines as far-ranging as economics, journalism and political science and beyond, the centre will generate and disseminate leading-edge knowledge and research on monetary and financial economics. A collaborative approach and partnerships forged through workshops and conferences will help CMFE act as a conduit between researchers and the government and financial sector, informing the public and policy-makers alike about pressing economic issues.
“The objective of economic research generally is to inform policy. There’s a crucial link between these things. If you don’t have that connection then basic research is only academic,” says Keir Armstrong, chairman of CMFE’s management board and of the economics department. “Coincidentally, we can help Canadians and the world to understand the current economic crisis and advise on ways to get out of it.”
While similar non-university centres exist in Canada, the CMFE is well placed to have access to the federal government, the Bank of Canada and the supervisory authorities in the nation’s capital, according to Freedman. In time, he hopes the centre will spark the creation of courses and specialized programs at Carleton.
Fast fact…
The CMFE’s inaugural lecture The Great Global Recession: How it happened and what can be done about it was delivered by Laurence H. Meyer, a former member of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System and current vice-chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers.