A conference on a new economic thinking and the role of finance in society – Finance & Society was held in Washington DC in the beginning of May. Guðrún Johnsen, an Assistant Professor at University of Iceland Faculty of Business Administration was one of the conference organizers. The conference was successful and received broad media coverage in the United States.
To celebrate and embrace recent increases in diversity of policy and thought leadership a renowned group of globally influential women took part in discussing how the financial system could be re-imagined to truly benefit society. The conference thus featured prominent speakers representing a broad range of actors in finance and society; including Senator Elizabeth Warren, Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen, and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.
The Institute for New Economic Thinking and an independent committee that included Anat Admati of Stanford University, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu of the IMF, Gudrun Johnsen from the University of Iceland and Signe Krogstrup of the Swiss National Bank, hosted the conference in Washington, DC.
Since the onset of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, there has been much debate about reforming the financial sector and improving the accountability of its major actors. Despite the public attention to these issues, and a host of financial reform initiatives, however, we have hardly advanced the global agenda toward these goals. Complexity, special interest, and weak systems of governance and accountability continue to interfere with the ability of the financial system to serve society's needs.
Recognizing that many challenges remain to be addressed in creating a healthy financial system, this conference will bring together leaders from academia, central banks, regulatory, governmental and legal bodies and the media to discuss the issues and provide insights. The discussions were public and on the record.
Guðrún Johnsen‘s speech at the conference: