Conference Overview
The inaugural Economic Policy: Papers on European and Global Issues Conference brought together leading scholars and policymakers to debate Ukraine’s economic recovery and long-term integration into the global economy. The programme combined a high-level policy panel with four new research papers presenting fresh evidence on wartime shocks, capital flows, sanctions, financial frictions, and urban reconstruction.
Dates: 4–5 December 2025
Venue: Sciences Po, Paris and online
Organisers: Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan (Managing Editor), Simeon Djankov, Yuriy Gorodnichenko (guest editors)
Research Materials
Below you will find all paper abstracts and three approved research summaries.
Sanctions and Financial Repression in the Currency Market
Authors: Oleg Itskhoki and Dmitry Mukhin
Session: 4 December, 15:15–16:45 (CET)
Abstract:
Tariffs, trade wars, and financial sanctions have become a common feature of the global economy. In response, many governments consider departing from the Washington Consensus and adding unconventional tools such as foreign exchange interventions, capital controls, and financial repression. This paper asks when, and how, financial repression can be used, and how it compares with FX interventions and conventional monetary and fiscal policy. We show that although the use of financial repression is welfare-reducing in response to international shocks even in the absence of FX interventions, it can be effectively used for redistributive and fiscal reasons. Greater international financial isolation, paradoxically, makes financial repression more potent in extracting fiscal surplus from the private sector.
Summary
Sanctions and Financial Repression in the Currency Market
A Wartime Labour Market: The Case of Ukraine
Authors: Tito Boeri, Giacomo Anastasia, Oleksandr Zholud
Session: 4 December, 17:15–18:45 (CET)
Abstract:
Wars disrupt labor markets, yet systematic evidence on how markets for labor services operate during conflicts is almost entirely absent. Ukraine is a rare exception: despite the full-scale Russian invasion, timely data on workers and vacancies, in both stocks and flows, remain available. We use these data to document one of the largest labor supply and reallocation shocks in recent history and to estimate the impact on job matching, showing how labor markets adapt under extreme stress. The labor force shrank by about one fourth, yet vacancy filling rates and matching efficiency declined modestly. Only along the frontline and in occupied regions there is evidence of labor market shutdowns. Wage flexibility, adaptability of recruitment policies of firms, and remote working help explain the resiliency of labor outcomes. Recovering longer-term human capital losses suffered by Ukraine will require a mix of tools going well beyond labor policies and should be a priority for the reconstruction phase.
Summary
Work in Wartime Ukraine
You Only Live Twice: Financial Inflows and Growth in a Westward-Facing Ukraine
Authors: Maurice Obstfeld and Yuriy Gorodnichenko
Session: 5 December, 09:00–10:30 (CET)
Abstract:
The monumental task of rebuilding postwar Ukraine requires early planning and identification of growth strategies. The earlier accession of Eastern European countries to the European Union and NATO offers a template that relies on massive foreign direct investment and public structural funds. This approach helps to raise incomes directly and can create a virtuous circle where capital deepening facilitates technological upgrades and repatriation of war refugees, which in turn stimulates more investment. We show theoretically that the government can refine this strategy by internalizing positive externalities from having a higher capital stock: investment in physical capital relaxes borrowing constraints (thus allowing more capital inflows) and raises wages (thus encouraging more Ukrainian refugees to return home).
Summary
Financial inflows for Ukraine
Rebuilding Ukraine’s Cities: Maximising Benefits and Minimising Costs
Authors: Edward Glaeser, Martina Kirchberger, Andrii Parkhomenko
Session: 5 December, 10:30–12:00 (CET)
Abstract:
This paper discusses the rebuilding of Ukrainian cities. We start by outlining key facts about Ukraine and its cities: (i) the country’s population is declining; (ii) there is a shift in demand for housing from east to west; (iii) Kyiv’s advantage is growing; (iv) house prices are rising in Kyiv and western cities, (v) Ukraine’s cities are slow and congested. We then present a theoretical framework for maximizing the benefits of Ukraine’s rebuilding effort to highlight the welfare effects of different allocations of post-war infrastructure. Finally, we consider the cost curve for reconstruction, as determined, in particular, by the cost of materials, labor, the industrial organization of the building industry and public practices in procurement and regulation. We highlight three broad strategies for shifting the cost curve: openness, standardization and investing-in-investing. We conclude by outlining areas for future research.
Summary
Rebuilding Ukraine’s Cities
