Media

"Global Imbalances and New Trends in the World Economy"

15 Jun 2012

 

Professor Karim PakravanVisiting
Associate Professor of DePaul University

Date:            June 18, 2012 (Monday)
Time:           13:00 - 14:00 (Talk and Q&A only)
Venue:          Hong Kong Bankers Club (Dragon Room 1), 43/F., Gloucester Tower, 
                      11 Pedder Street, The Landmark,  Central, Hong Kong
Medium:       English
Contact: Tel:   2548 9300 / info@hiebs.hku.hk     

The world economy is slowly emerging from the "Great Recession", albeit in an uneven and syncopated manner.  However, four years of financial and economic crises of an unprecedented magnitude have exacerbated fundamental pre-existing structural imbalances in the global economy and put in question the institutional framework that has governed the global economy in the past seventy years.  The shift towards a multi-polar world is accelerating as the global balance of financial and economic power is changing.  On one hand, the massive US deficits incurred since 2008 and the near-default of the summer of 2011 and the European sovereign debt crisis have underscored the unsustainable nature of the fiscal problems of the major economic powers. On the other, the emerging markets, led by the BRICs, have continued on their path of economic growth and massive asset accumulation. In this talk, I will attempt to address some of the key issues, opportunities and challenges that have resulted from this power shift in the context of current trends in the global economy.

Karim Pakravan has been a Visiting Associate Professor of Finance at DePaul University since 2008. Prior to that, Pakravan had a 25-year career in global banking and finance.  Since rejoining academia, Pakravan had lectured extensively on money and banking, financial management, international finance, and quantitative methods in finance. He has also been teaching a case-based private equity class since 2011.  Pakravan’s research has focused on global macro-financial markets and regulation, topics in which he has published several papers since his return to academia. His research in the field is on-going, and he has also maintaining a continued interest in emerging markets, currency markets, global risk management and geopolitics.

Pakravan’s outside activities include memberships in the Investment Committee of Advocacy Investing, a Chicago-based socially responsible investment fund, which he advises on macroeconomic and financial issues, the Advisory Board of the Kinsella Group, a middle market investment bank based in Chicago, and the Chicago Council for Global affairs. He is also a member of the International Subcommittee of the Association of Merger & Acquisitions Advisors, and the Editor of the AM&AA’s Global M&A Newsletter.  Pakravan is on the board of Social Enterprise Alliance-Illinois Chapter, which focuses on promoting economic development through building community-based entrepreneurship.  Pakravan holds B.S in Economics from the University of Geneva, an M.Sc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics from the London School of Economics and a PhD in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Remark:   There will not be sound box set-up at the venue.