Economic industry's major conference begins at Villa College

International Input Output Association's (IIOA) 31st conference has begun at Villa College. It's one of the largest conferences in the field of economic research.

The conference began on Sunday, July 6 and will run until this Friday. 38 countries with 196 representatives are participating in the conference.

88 of those participants are university students. Over 150 papers are expected to be submitted with topics related to input-output (IO) analysis.

Governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Ahmed Munawwar gave a speech during the opening ceremony for the conference.

He said that conducting economic research for the economic development of Maldives and for developing island nations such as Maldives is imperative.

The conference had experts such as American University Professor Robert Koopman, University College London Professor Jing Meng and Asian Development Bank's Principal Statistician Dr. Mahinthan Joseph Mariasingham speak at the conference. They delivered speeches concerning geo-economic forces, the role of the 'global south' in the global supply chain and contemporary economic relations.

Professor Robert Koopman highlighted in his keynote speech how IO analysis has become an important tool for understanding geo-economic strength and vulnerability in today’s divided world, rather than simply a measure of business calculation.

He stated that the world has changed into an environment of fragmentation and strategic competition, from an environment that used to be of countries working together in harmony. And the biggest challenge in this regard, he said, is measuring the “network lubricant” relationships and “adaptive capacity” created by technologies such as AI, which are not captured by ordinary data.

He went on to call on industry experts to find and come up with new standards that adhere to the modern era, that will maintain the relevance of economic research and for more dynamic and detailed models to be invented and implemented.

The Leontief Memorial Prize will be awarded to young authors (under 40 years of age) by the IIOA for the best paper presented at the conference. The paper will be under consideration to be published in IIOA's journal Economic Systems Research, along with EUR 1,000 in prize money.

The International School of Input-Output Analysis's 13th edition was published on Monday in honor of the young researchers participating in the conference.

Villa College said a training program has been conducted with a total of 115 participants. The aim of the training program was to provide opportunities for young people to seek expert advice. Special events such as 'Young Researchers' Night' and 'Flash Presentation' are also scheduled to showcase the research skills of the youth.

Villa College went on to say that it was an honor to arrange and host such a global event and a great boon to Maldives' education sector. Such conferences will promote Maldives as a hub for economic research and international academic meetings, providing valuable opportunities for Maldivian academics and students to meet world-class experts and strengthen scholarly bonds.