The Conference was organized by Mikhail Golosov (Princeton), Igor Livshits (Western Ontario), Yuri Tserlukevich (Arizona State University) and Alexei Tchistyi (Berkeley).

Year after year the conference attracts more and more visitors. This time more than one hundred people (including students, lectures, professors from regions, economic journalists, independent economists, experts, think-tank researchers, policy decision makers and representatives of international organizations) attended the event. Many scientists who took part in the conference represent Belarusian diaspora all over the world.

“Such conferences are not the invention of the Center only. Similar conference, for example, is held in Germany on Christmas eve: the government invites German professors working abroad to share the results of their research work”, - explains Pavel Daneyko, BEROC administrative director . According to his words, the major task of such events is to create a professional network leading to fruitful co-operation in future.

“Many Belarusian economists work abroad nowadays. It’s normal, researchers from different countries often work abroad. The most important here is not to forget to come back”, - states Yuri Tserlukevich, Assistant Professor at Arizona State University.

Belarusian economists consider the conference to be a chance to adopt the latest practices of the world’s economic science. “Such visits researchers from the leading universities influence the work of our scientists in a positive way. It is seen from the heated discussion that starts righr after each presentation” – claims Kateryna Bornukova, BEROC senior researcher. According to Pavel Daneyko, on the other side, Belarusian scholars may use the conference as a means to demonstrate their professionalism and skills as well: “One of our ideas was to prove that Belarusian economists can also be the world’s leading scientists.”

Agency Imlications of Equity Market Timing

Yuri Tserlukevich, Arizona State University, USA

Likely and Unlikely Reasons for Securitized Borrowing: Evidence from the CMBS Market

Andra Ghent, Arizona State University, USA

Risking Other People's Money: Gambling, Limited Liability, and Optimal Incentives

Alexei Tchistyi, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, USA

Was Stalin Necessary for Russia's Economic Development?

Mikhail Golosov, Princeton University, USA

Earnings Quality in Foreign IPOs in the U.S.: The Role of HomeCountry Institutions

Gilad Livne, Cass Business School City University London, UK

Product Switching in a Model of Learning

Olga Timoshenko, George Washington University, USA

Productivity Puzzle and Family Labor Supply

Kateryna Bornukova, Belarusian Economic Research and Outreach Center (BEROC)

Institutional Competition and Governance Quality: Experimental Evidence from Afghanistan

Ruben Enikolopov, New Economic School, Russia