Chers tous, 
Cet appel à contributions pour la conférence en histoire de la
modélisation macroéconométrique en avril 2017 est susceptible
d'intéresser certains d'entre vous.
Très amicalement,
Erich 


Conference: The History of Macroeconometric Modeling
 
Utrecht University, April 6-7, 2017
 
 
Call for Papers
 
 
This conference is based on the assumption that macroeconometric modeling
should be seen as central to the development of macroeconomics. Such models
were the way in which insights from macroeconomic theory were applied to
policy. For example, the construction and running of large macroeconometric
models was a major activity in many treasuries and central banks. Such
models and models based on competing methodological approaches were a major
element in the testing and development of macroeconomic theories and in
attempts to resolve controversies, such that between Keynesianism and
monetarism or between and new classicals and new Keynesians.
However, this close relationship between macroeconomics and
macroeconometric modeling has not generally been acknowledged by historians
of economics largely, we suggest, because a division of labour has emerged
in which the history of macroeconomics has focused on macroeconomic theory,
whilst the history of macroeconometric modeling has generally been seen as
part of the history of econometrics, with a high proportion of accounts
being written by practitioners. As a result the history of macroeconometric
modeling remains not only disconnected from broader developments in
macroeconomics but also unsystematic compared with histories of
macroeconomic theory or econometrics. The aim of this conference is to make
the history of macroeconometric modeling more central to the history of
macroeconomics.
The history of macroeconometric modeling should, we contend, be of great
interest to historians of economics who have, in recent years, paid much
more attention to the institutional setting in which economists? practices
have developed. Whilst university economics departments have been very
important, it is impossible to provide a serious history of
macroeconometric modeling without taking into account the varied
institutional settings in which it has been undertaken?treasuries, central
banks, independent research institutes, international organizations
(including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the United
Nations) and private consultancy organizations. There are also different
national traditions in such work and in its relationship to policy making.
In order to provide a more satisfactory history, that explores the
interface of macroeconomics, econometrics and policymaking, there are many
questions that we would like to see addressed:
 
1)     The role played by macroeconometric modeling in the history of
macroeconomics as a whole: the share of the profession (researchers and
graduate students) involved in macroeconometric modeling or conducting
alternative empirical investigations; its history in textbooks; etc.

1)     Relationships between theoretical and applied work: the
cross-fertilization of macro modeling and econometrics; the shaping of the
theoretical agenda; policymakers? engagement with these types of
macroeconomics; etc.

2)     Technology and computation: the relationships between
macroeconomists, econometricians and software developers; IT progress
shaping macroeconometric modeling; etc.

3)     Places and communities: institutional basis of models; relationships
between universities, central banks, consultancy firms and others producing
macro models; was there convergence between the agendas and methods pursued
by academics and central banks and if so what form did it take?

4)     Modelers and their clients: How did modelers engage with their
clients?

 
We are interested in bringing together historians of science and of
economics from different countries and with complementary interests to shed
new light on the history of empirical macro, policymaking, monetary
theories, policies and institutions.
The conference will be at Utrecht, The Netherlands, in one of the
historical building in the Centre of Utrecht, and will be sponsored by the
Tjalling Koopmans Institute (U.S.E. research Institute) and the Descartes
Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Sciences (and hopefully a
third funding agency). It is a two-day conference, on 6 and 7 April, 2017.
We have already nine papers that will be presented and we are looking for
additional contributions. Please submit your proposals to Marcel Boumans
(m.j.boumans@uu.nl) no later than
January 10, 2017. Accepted submissions will be announced by January 20,
2017. Full papers are due by March 15, 2017.
 
Conference organizer: Marcel Boumans (Utrecht University)
 
Project organizers and scientific committee:
Roger Backhouse (University of Birmingham, UK, and Erasmus University, The
Netherlands)
Marcel Boumans (Utrecht University, The Netherlands)
Béatrice Cherrier (University of Caen, France)
Pedro G. Duarte (University of São Paulo, Brazil)
Kevin Hoover (Duke University, USA)