Obama Officials Romer, Volcker to Join U.Va. Miller Center Conference Examining Role of Central Banks

October 1, 2010 — The University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs will convene a conference Oct. 11 in Washington, D.C. to examine how the current financial crisis has influenced the role that central banks play in an international economy. 

Participants include five current and former central bankers – from the United States, European Union, England, China and Japan – as well as several leading economists, including Christina Romer, who recently left her post as chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve under presidents Carter and Reagan and currently chairman of President Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

The third annual Mortimer Caplin Conference on the World Economy will be held at the National Press Club from noon to 3:30 p.m.

The first panel, which will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m., will provide a framework for the roles that central banks play. Participants include:

Charles A.E. Goodhart, London School of Economics
Alice Rivlin, former White House budget director
Christina Romer, former chair, White House Council of Economic Advisers
John B. Taylor, Stanford University
Moderator: Alan Murray, The Wall Street Journal
    
Former Treasury Secretary John Snow will then moderate a discussion among central bankers from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. about how the current financial crisis has changed the role of central banks.  Panelists include:

Toshihiko Fukui, former Bank of Japan governor
Mervyn King, Bank of England governor
Jean-Claude Trichet, European Central Bank president
Paul Volcker, former Federal Reserve chairman
Zhou Xiaochuan, People's Bank of China governor

Both panels will be webcast live here.