The Fifth European Conference on Banking and the Economy (ECOBATE 2024): Opportunities and Challenges of New or Centralised Digital Finance

• Date: Wednesday 27th March 2024 

• Location: West Downs Centre, University of Winchester, United Kingdom

The Fifth European Conference on Banking and the Economy (ECOBATE 2024), organized by the Association for Research on Banking and the Economy (ARBE) in collaboration with the University of Winchester, will cover a range of topics concerning digital technologies for finance, monetary economics and macroeconomics, covering theory, applications and policy. A particular, though not exclusive, focus will be the opportunities and challenges posed by the modern digital economy, including the rise of such innovations as fintech businesses and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The organizing committee invites scholars, researchers, and experts to submit their work in all these areas, but particularly also concerning new directions in digital finance.

As the financial services industry has undergone rapid innovation since the 2007-2010 US and European financial crisis, propelled by advancements in big data, cloud computing, blockchain and other technological developments, new forms of digital finance have emerged as a facet of our lives. Such fintech and central bank responses challenge the long-established status-quo of the traditional banking industry and monetary policies designed around it, opening up both developmental opportunities and complex challenges.

Call for Papers

We encourage submissions that examine the opportunities offered by digital finance, including CBDCs, in achieving financial inclusion, enhancing financial efficiency, supporting innovation and entrepreneurship, promoting a green economy, and optimizing economic structures for high-quality development. Papers exploring the following themes are particularly welcome. 

•  Financial Inclusion and Efficiency:

• Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development

• Environmental Sustainability and the Green Economy

• Financial Stability, Regulatory Challenges, and Risks

• Central bank digital currencies and cryptocurrencies

• FinTech, RegTech and PayTech

We welcome submissions from diverse methodological traditions in economics. We encourage scholars to contribute to a pluralistic view of economic research, enriching our understanding of CBDCs and their implications.