Call for Papers
ECB Workshop on Excess Liquidity and Money Market Functioning

Deadline for submission: 10 September 2012

PURPOSE: Money markets have taken the centre stage in economic and policy debates since the start of the financial crisis in August 2007. As they represent the initial step in the monetary transmission mechanism, their proper functioning is a pre-condition for standard monetary policy measures to be effective. Confronted with seriously impaired money markets, central banks around the world have launched a series of non-standard monetary policy measures aimed - among other things - at ensuring that monetary policy impulses continued to be effectively transmitted. The workshop intends bringing together central bankers, practitioners and academics to discuss the current state of health of money markets, the impact on their functioning of the recently implemented non-standard measures and the possible side effects of large amounts of excess liquidity currently present in many developed economies. A panel with representatives from the financial industry on the impact of 3-year Long Term Refinancing Operations is also envisaged.

TOPICS: Submissions are welcome, particularly on issues related to the following themes:
- Empirical analysis on the functioning of the money market (for both secured and unsecured segments at different maturities), including approaches using payment systems data
- Modelling of short-term interest rates, the money market yield curve and the pricing of interest rate derivatives, especially in a situation of asymmetric information and excess liquidity
- The interaction of excess liquidity, market expectations and possible risks in terms of monetary policy signals
- Changes in the transmission mechanism and challenges for monetary policy implementation stemming from large excess liquidity
- The impact of liquidity regulation on money markets and central bank operations (Basel III)

PAPER SUBMISSION PROCEDURE: Authors are encouraged to submit papers on the above-mentioned topics. Submissions must comprise a full paper or an extended abstract and should be sent in PDF format to: MMWorkshop@ecb.europa.eu no later than 10 September 2012. Authors of accepted papers will be notified by end September 2012. The final versions of conference papers must be sent to the same e-mail address by 12 November 2012.

ORGANISATIONAL INFORMATION: Attendance of the workshop is by invitation only. It will start in the morning of Monday 19 November, 2012 and end in the early afternoon on Tuesday 20 November, 2012. A dinner is planned for the evening of the first day.

EXPENSES: The travel (economy fare) and accommodation expenses of academic speakers and discussants will be reimbursed.

CONFERENCE ORGANISERS: Nuno Cassola, Alain Durre, Jens Eisenschmidt and Simone Manganelli (all ECB).