Three Nobel Laureates, 1,000 Economists Gather in Belgrade

About 1,000 participants from more than 80 countries passed through Belgrade’s Sava Centar over the five days of the 21st World Congress of Economists of the International Economic Association (IEA), the scientific gathering that closes on June 26. By the number of delegates and the standing of its speakers, it is the largest professional meeting of economists ever organized in Serbia. The host was the Serbian Association of Economists, led by Aleksandar Vlahovic, and President Aleksandar Vucic attended the opening.

The program featured roughly 200 panels and 10 plenary sessions, with themes that now touch nearly every national economy: the balance between globalism and nationalism, multilateralism and bilateralism, the path of inflation, technological transformation and artificial intelligence, and the future of international trade. The congress returns to Europe after almost two decades, and reaches the southeastern part of the continent for the first time.

Does the congress change Serbia’s economic standing?

Host status alone does not move macroeconomic indicators, but it opens a channel of visibility before an audience that decides where capital and foreign direct investment flow. A gathering of this rank brings representatives of central banks, international organizations and universities into one country, and it is that network of contacts, rather than the ceremonial side, that gives the event its real value.

The context in which Serbia welcomes the congress is defined by the projections of international institutions. According to reports from the panels, the IMF expects Serbia’s gross domestic product to grow by around 2.8% this year, with inflation stabilizing near 3% over the medium term. That is a slower pace than in previous years, but in line with projections for comparable economies in the region, where the slowdown reflects weaker external demand and higher financing costs.

A panel on monetary stability featured National Bank of Serbia Governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic, part of the discussion on the role of central banks in maintaining price stability amid geopolitical uncertainty. The topic sits at the center of attention because policymakers across Europe face the same trade-off: how quickly to lower interest rates without reigniting inflation.

The names that hold attention

The greatest interest goes to the three Nobel laureates in economics. Jean Tirole, who won the prize in 2014, is known for his work on market regulation and market power. Esther Duflo, the 2019 laureate, has spent years applying experimental methods to the fight against poverty. Eric Maskin, awarded in 2007, is one of the architects of mechanism design theory.

Alongside them, the speaker list includes Dani Rodrik, one of the most influential critics of hyperglobalization, Helene Rey, an authority on international financial flows, and David Autor, whose analyses of labor markets and the effects of automation frame the debate on artificial intelligence. These are authors whose work is cited in textbooks, so their arrival places Belgrade on the map of global economic debate for a few days.

For the domestic profession the benefit is more measurable than the symbolism: direct contact with researchers whose ideas shape policy, without intermediaries and without travel. The question that remains after the closing is whether this visibility will translate into concrete projects and investment, or be recorded only as a well-organized event. What do you expect, can a gathering like this bring tangible benefit to the Serbian economy?