Business School hosts top economists
The University of St Andrews Business School hosted the St Andrews Workshop in Macroeconomics on Thursday 22 May and Friday 23 May 2025, bringing together economists from central banks, universities and research institutes across Europe.
Researchers and policymakers from leading institutions – including the Bank of England, European Central Bank, University of Oxford, INSEAD Business School, Goethe University Frankfurt, and the Deutsche Bundesbank – gathered at Castlecliffe, home to the Department of Economics, for a workshop exploring trade, fiscal policy, labour markets, and monetary policy. Designed for a select group of contributors, the workshop offered a focused environment that encouraged thoughtful discussion, constructive feedback, and meaningful exchange on pressing macroeconomic challenges.
Discussions covered a wide range of macroeconomic challenges, including:
- the effects of geopolitical risk on trade flows
- the transmission of foreign demand shocks
- the role of fiscal policy in managing inflation and debt.
Presenters examined the impact of economic sanctions, quantitative easing and tightening dynamics, and the evolving relationship between participation, job search and labour market attachment. The programme also explored long-term structural issues such as spatial inequalities and the intergenerational effects of housing and credit markets.
Dr Jonathan Swarbrick and Dr Yulia Moiseeva organised the workshop with support from the Scottish Economic Society.
Dr Swarbrick said:
“We were delighted to welcome such a strong group of researchers to St Andrews. Bringing together a carefully selected group of leading thinkers created the conditions for serious, in-depth discussion of the macroeconomic challenges facing policymakers today.
“Events like this are central to our mission to advance economic thinking and inform real-world decisions. They also help to strengthen our research culture and deepen our connections across the global academic and policy communities.”
