The Berlin IO Day is a one-day workshop sponsored by the Berlin Centre for Consumer Policies (BCCP) and supported by the Berlin's leading academic institutions, including DIW Berlin, ESMT Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Technische Universität Berlin. The aim is to create an international forum for high quality research in Industrial Organization in the heart of Berlin, one of Europe's most vibrant and intellectually lively cities.

Minicourses are a series of one or two day courses on various topics in Economics, organized by the DIW Graduate Center. The target audience consists of graduate students in Economics at Berlin universities and research institutes. The GC Minicourses are held on an irregular basis at DIW Berlin (about once a month) and are open to all affiliates of DIW Berlin, those of the BDPEMS program, and anyone else upon inquiry. For proposals of Minicourses please contact Anton Velinov Ph.D.

Syllabus

1. Vector Autoregressive Models
2. Vector Error Correction Models
3. Structural VAR Tools
4. Bayesian VAR Analysis
5. Identification by Short-Run Restrictions
6. Identification by Long-Run Restrictions
7. Inference for Impulse Responses
8. Sign Restrictions
9. Identification by Heteroskedasticity or Non-Gaussianity
10. Identification Based on External Instruments
11. Structural VAR Analysis in a Data-Rich Environment
12. Nonfundamental Shocks

The German Socio-Economic Panel Study is a representative panel study for the German population, collecting data on a broad variety of topics of everyday life, including general wellbeing, household composition, educational aspirations and educational status, income and occupational biographies, leisure time activities, housing, health, political orientation and more. With its long running panel structure, the breadth of topics and the representative nature of the data, the SOEP has become a central resources for quantitative research in the social sciences in Germany.

The 2nd annual Workshop for Women in Macroeconomics, Finance and Economic History is being organized by the DIW Berlin. The aim is to bring together female academic researchers and practitioners to promote and exchange ideas in the field of Macroeconomics, Finance, and Economic History. We invite contributions, including, but not limited to macroeconomic and financial stability, interactions between monetary policy and financial regulation, institutional change and capital market integration, and studies dealing with expectations and experience. The conference will facilitate and support the formation of professional networks among female economists across academia and policy institutions.

More than ten years after the crisis, the financial sector is still in the midst of a far-reaching transformational process. The regulatory environment remains a headwind for financial institutions, and new technologies are changing the rules of the game. Zero interest rates and flat yield curves, in particular in Europe, deprive credit institutions of their traditional income from the credit and maturity transformation business. Populism and political uncertainty create additional challenges, curtailing investment and risk-taking. Finally, the ever-increasing focus for investors and corporations alike on topics around ESG – environmental, social and governance – and sustainability brings with it a whole new set of challenges and opportunities that need to be navigated. An important element in successfully tackling these challenges is a healthy corporate culture that allows for the necessary change to happen – including an increase in female representation and a better gender balance in corporate board rooms.

This conference will present an outlook on these developments and their implications for the financial services industry and economies at large, primarily presented by leading female exponents of the financial services industry as well as key public authorities.