ECB Executive Board Member Yves Mersch, EU Commissioner Laszlo Andor, Greek MP Yannis Dragasakis, and Other Top Policymakers and Economists to Discuss Eurozone Crisis, Greece, and Austerity at Levy Economics Institute Conference, Athens, Greece, Nov. 8-9

ATHENS, Greece, Nov. 4, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In November, the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College will gather high-level policymakers, distinguished economists, and leading banking and investment professionals at the conference "The Eurozone Crisis, Greece, and the Experience of Austerity," in Athens, Greece, to explore the ongoing economic crisis in Greece and other eurozone countries. The conference is organized as part of the Levy Institute's international research agenda and in conjunction with the Ford Foundation Project on Financial Instability, which draws on Hyman Minsky's extensive work on the structure of financial systems to ensure stability and the role of government in achieving a growing and equitable economy. The conference will take place Friday and Saturday, November 8 and 9, at the Megaron Athens International Conference Centre, and is free and open to the public.

Invited speakers include Yves Mersch, member, executive board and general council, European Central Bank; Laszlo Andor, commissioner for employment, social affairs, and inclusion, European Commission (EC); Yannis Dragasakis, MP (SYRIZA) and fourth vice president of the Greek Parliament; Philippe Gudin de Vallerin, managing director and chief European economist, Barclays; Mar Guðmundsson, governor, Central Bank of Iceland; Louka Katseli, president, Social Pact Party, Greece, and former Greek Minister for Labor and Social Security; Lex Hoogduin, professor, University of Groningen and University of Amsterdam; Ebrahim Rahbari, director, European and global economics, Citigroup; George S. Zavvos, legal adviser,EC Legal Service, former member of the European Parliament, and former EC ambassador; Lord Robert Skidelsky, emeritus professor of political economy, University of Warwick; Loukas Tsoukalis, professor, University of Athens, visiting professor, King's College, London, and president, ELIAMEP; Duncan Campbell, director, policy planning in employment, International Labour Organization; and Frank Veneroso, president, Veneroso Associates, LLC.

The conference will address, among other issues, the challenges to global growth and employment posed by the continuing eurozone debt crisis; the impact of austerity on output and employment; the ramifications of the credit crunch for economic and financial markets; the larger implications of government deficits and debt crises for U.S. and European economic policies; and central bank independence and financial reform. The conference will include presentations by Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, president, Levy Institute; Jan Kregel, senior scholar, Levy Institute, and professor, Tallinn University of Technology; Liz Alderman, European economics, business, and finance reporter, The New York Times; Matina Stevis, European economics correspondent, The Wall Street Journal; Yannis Aggelis, senior editor, Kefalaio, and editor, Capital.gr; Alexis Papahelas, executive editor, Kathimerini (Athens); Nikos Xydakis, editor, Kathimerini; Christina Kopsini, editor, labor market and employment issues, Kathimerini; Michalis Panagiotakis, journalist, Avgi; Stavros Lygeros, author, and editor, Real News and Real FM Radio; Rania Antonopoulos, senior scholar, Levy Institute; Dimitri Vayanos, professor of finance and director, Paul Woolley Centre for the Study of Capital Market Dysfunctionality, London School of Economics; L. Randall Wray, senior scholar, Levy Institute, and professor, University of Missouri–Kansas City; Giorgos Argitis, research associate, Levy Institute, and professor, University of Athens; Gerasimos Arsenis, president, ADGI–INERPOST; Emilios Avgouleas, chair, International Banking Law and Finance, School of Law, University of Edinburgh; Kerstin Bernoth, scientific adviser to the board, DIW Berlin, and professor of economics, Hertie School of Governance; C. J. Polychroniou, research associate and policy fellow, Levy Institute; Massimiliano La Marca, economist, International Labour Organization; Jörg Bibow, research associate, Levy Institute, and professor, Skidmore College; Gennaro Zezza, research scholar, Levy Institute, and professor, University of Cassino, Italy; Martin Hellwig, director, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods; Maria Karamessini, professor, Panteion University; Rainer Kattel, professor and director, department of public administration, Tallinn University of Technology; Elias Kikilias, research director, National Centre for Social Research, Greece; Terrence McDonough, professor of economics, National University of Ireland, Galway; Robert W. Parenteau, research associate, Levy Institute, and sole proprietor, MacroStrategy Edge; and David Stuckler, senior research leader in sociology, Oxford University.

The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, founded in 1986 through the generous support of the late Bard College trustee Leon Levy, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public policy research organization. The Institute is independent of any political or other affiliation, and encourages diversity of opinion in the examination of economic policy issues while striving to transform ideological arguments into informed debate.

The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

For preliminary conference program information, please visit: www.levyinstitute.org/conferences/athens_2013

To register to attend the conference, visit www.levyinstitute.org or call 1(30) 210.77.12.400. There is no fee.

For press registration, call 845-758-7412 or e-mail primoff@bard.edu.