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NBB conference 2026: Fiscal-monetary policy interactions in the 21st century The National Bank of Belgium cordially invites you to its latest international biennial research conference on the topic of fiscal-monetary policy interactions in the 21st century, to be held on 8 and 9 October 2026 in Brussels. Monetary and fiscal policies are essential to address shocks and emerging challenges in the current economic and international environment. The interaction between these policies, as well as the implications of agent heterogeneity and ongoing structural changes, has thus become an increasingly central issue. In the current climate, characterised by high debt-to-GDP ratios worldwide, fiscal policy may generate inflationary pressures, making the appropriate monetary response dependent on the prevailing regime, be it fiscal or monetary dominance. At the same time, structural shifts (such as the energy transition) and shocks (including recent surges in energy prices) are shaping monetary policy and interest rate dynamics. Understanding the drivers of public debt dynamics therefore remains key. Agent heterogeneity further affects the transmission and effectiveness of macroeconomic policies pointing to the need to reconcile stabilisation and redistribution. These issues are particularly complex in a monetary union, with a single monetary policy, decentralised fiscal policies and heterogeneous wage-setting mechanisms. In addition, new challenges linked to climate change, energy price dynamics and potential commodity supply constraints require trade-offs between price stability, decarbonisation incentives and distributional considerations. The results of several new studies on these topics will be presented at the conference in October. Eight teams of Belgian and international researchers will introduce their findings, which will then be discussed by panels of international experts. Our keynote speakers will be George Hall(Brandeis University), Giancarlo Corsetti (European University Institute), Catherine Wolfram (MIT) and Michael Weber (Purdue University and ESMT Berlin). Policy-focused speeches will be delivered by Agnès Bénassy-Quéré (deputy governor, Banque de France) and Pierre Wunsch (governor, National Bank of Belgium). The provisional programme can be found here. |