International Conference on Trade Wars, Geopolitical Fragmentation and Repercussions for Financial and Monetary Stability
London (United Kingdom)
4-5 Nov 2026
A special International Conference on Trade Wars, Geopolitical Fragmentation and Repercussions for Financial and Monetary Stability, organised jointly by Brunel University of London and University of Leeds (UK), will take place on 4-5 November 2026 at Brunel University of London (UK).
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Background and Context:
Global financial and economic imbalances are central to current policy debates on global financial, economic, and political forums. Escalating trade wars, slowing global growth, and geopolitical tensions create new risks for international financial and monetary stability. In addition to the highly publicised trade war between the US and China, some of the closest allies of the former, including Canada, Japan, the UK and other European countries, are witnessing a major shift in their relations with the US. This was partly in response to the so-called “liberation day”, when President Trump imposed tariffs on each US trading partner, pointedly raising the issue of “unfairness” in current trade arrangements. The assertion of unfair trade practices has a political dimension, yet there is no strong supportive evidence or consensus on this issue. For example, the large US trade deficit may reflect an imbalance in investment and savings, a huge budget deficit and productivity, etc., rather than the unfair practices of its trading partners. Furthermore, the demand for dollars as a reserve currency has exacerbated the US trade deficit, contributing to global imbalances. Large trade deficits in the UK and the US can be associated with the prominent role of finance and banking in these economies, which attract international investments but can weigh heavily on export performance. These deficits were financed in part by capital flows from major oil exporters and emerging (surplus) economies. Further, the low international interest rate environment–a result of the large supply of global savings–has played some role. On the other hand, the idea of lifting capital controls and a freely floating Renminbi is also debatable.
The challenges that the international trade war initiated by the US administration is bringing to global financial markets and institutions, central banks, investors, business and societies, open new avenues of curiosity and research. The sharp systemic increase in tariffs, the future of the global monetary and financial system, central banking, de-dollarisation, and inter- and intra-Eurozone financial imbalances, in conjunction with increasing international financial integration and financialization, are important aspects to explore. Yet our understanding of these challenges and, hence, the optimal financial and monetary policy response is limited. The identification of these nexuses and implications of trade wars for financial and economic stability is vital to achieving order in the domestic and global financial and monetary system. Therefore, this conference is both timely and necessary to meet some of the most pressing challenges in the age of 21st-century protectionism.
Objectives and Scope:
The objectives of the conference include the exploration of the trade war’s financial and economic repercussions and solutions that ensure financial and monetary stability. Papers will be written by academics and practitioners of financial and economic policies and financial management, particularly focusing on the impact of trade policy on international financial and monetary stability, and the era of conflict and protectionism.
Potential Topics:
Keynote Speaker:
Beata Javorcik is Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London and holds a Statutory Professorship in Economics at Oxford University. She is a member of the Royal Economic Society’s Executive Committee and a Director of the International Trade Programme at the Centre for Economic Policy Research in London. Before taking up her position at Oxford University, she worked at the World Bank in Washington D.C. She holds a PhD in Economics from Yale and a BA in Economics from the University of Rochester.
Panel Discussants:
Ricardo Reis is the A.W. Phillips Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics. He is an elected Fellow of the British Academy, the Academia de Ciências de Lisboa, and the Econometric Society, and is a past winner of the Yrjo Jahnsson medal, the Carl Menger award, the Bernacer prize, and the BdF/TSE junior prize. Professor Reis is an academic consultant at the Bank of England, the European Stability Mechanism, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, and serves on the council or as an advisor of multiple organizations. He has published widely on macroeconomics, including both monetary and fiscal policy, inflation and business cycles, and finance in the international monetary system. Professor Reis received his PhD from Harvard University, and was previously on the faculty at Columbia University and Princeton University.
Gulcin Ozkan is Professor of Finance at King’s Business School, King’s College London. Before joining King’s, she held academic positions at METU, Durham University, and the University of York, where she held a Chair between 2011 and 2019. Since 2025, she has served as the elected Chair of the Money, Macro and Finance Society. Her research lies at the intersection of macroeconomics and finance, with particular interests in financial stability, monetary and macroprudential policy, emerging markets, climate-related macroeconomic risks, and the economics of constitutions.
Jagjit Chadha is Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Cambridge. He served as Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) from May 2016 and December 2024. Previously he was Professor of Economics at the University of Kent and Professor of Economics at the University of St Andrews, and Fellow at Clare College, Cambridge. He started his career working at the Bank of England on Monetary Policy. Spent some time as Chief Quantitative Economist at BNP Paribas. Has served as Chair of the Money, Macro, Finance Study Group. He has acted as Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Treasury Committee and academic adviser to both the Bank of England and HM Treasury, and to many central banks, as well as the Bank for International Settlements. In the City of London he was the Mercers’ Memorial Professor of Commerce at Gresham College from 2014-2018. He served as a member of the ESRC research panel until 2021, sat on the REF21 panel, the 2070 Commission, and the Royal Economic Society Council. He is now on the Advisory Board of the Bennett Institute of Public Policy, the Executive Board of the Productivity Institute and the Health Foundation's Productivity Commission. He gave the RES Public Lecture in 2022 on Monetary Policy. He is a regular commentator in the media on economic affairs. In the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours he was awarded an OBE for his services to economics and economic policy and in 2025 he was elected a Founding Fellow of the Royal Economic Society.
Scientific Committee:
Guglielmo Maria Caporale, Brunel University of London (UK)
Jagjit Chadha, University of Cambridge (UK)
Menzie Chinn, University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA)
John Hunter, Brunel University of London (UK)
Beata Javorcik, University of Oxford (UK)
Menelaos Karanasos, Brunel University of London (UK)
Muhammad-Ali Nasir, University of Leeds (UK)
Duc Khuong Nguyen, EMLV Business School (France) and University of Cambridge (UK)
Gulcin Ozcan, King's College London (UK)
Peter Phelps, University of Leeds (UK)
Keith Pilbeam, City St George's, University of London (UK)
Ricardo Reis, London School of Economics (UK)
Jamel Saadaoui, Paris 8 University (France)
Xuguang Simon Sheng, American University (USA)
Anamaria Diana Sova, Brunel University of London (UK)
Sifan Xue, Peking University (China)
Changhua Yu, Peking University (China)
Conference Chairs:
Prof. Guglielmo Maria Caporale, Brunel University of London (UK)
Prof. Muhammad-Ali Nasir, University of Leeds (UK)
Assoc. Prof. Peter Phelps, University of Leeds (UK)
Special Issue:
Papers accepted at the conference will be considered for publication in a special issue in Journal of International Money and Finance. There will be a dedicated session at the conference to introduce the special issue. The indicative submission window for the special issue is 1 December, 2026 to 30 June, 2027, with an acceptance deadline of no later than 31 December, 2027. Presentation at conference does not guarantee publication in the special issue; only the highest quality submissions will be considered for peer-review. The special issue Guest Editors are Philip Arestis (Cambridge University), Guglielmo Maria Caporale (Brunel University of London), Muhammad Ali-Nasir (University of Leeds) and Peter Phelps (University of Leeds). The special issue will be overseen by Professor Menzie Chinn (University of Wisconsin-Madison), JIMF Co-Editor. The final decision on publication rests with the journal.
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