On Tuesday, July 10, a collaboration agreement was signed in Madrid between the Secretary of State for Budget and Expenditure of the Ministry of Finance and Public Administrations, the Secretary of State for Economy and Business Support of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, the Rafael del Pino Foundation, BBVA, the University of Valencia (Estudi General) and the Private Foundation of Analytical Economics.
The objective of the agreement is to develop economic models and other useful tools for the analysis, design and evaluation of public policies aimed at promoting macroeconomic stability and full employment, economic growth, regional cohesion and convergence with neighboring countries.
IEI researchers, José E. Boscá and Javier Ferri, will carry out advisory and analytical work for the two Secretaries of State. The agreement aims to update and extend the macroeconomic simulation model called REMS (acronym for "Rational Expectations Model of the Spanish Economy"). REMS is a dynamic general equilibrium model designed for the simulation and evaluation of macroeconomic policies in the Spanish economy. The model was developed in 2007-08 by a team of researchers from the IEI, together with technicians from the then Ministry of Economy.
The model has been used in recent years as a tool for simulating economic policy measures and, therefore, as an instrument for evaluating their viability in advance. The aim of this agreement is to develop the model in order to pay special attention to the role of the financial sector and the interaction of the Spanish economy with the rest of the EU.
The agreement will be co-financed by the Rafael del Pino Foundation and BBVA. Researchers from the Fundación Privada de Economía Analítica de Barcelona will also participate, whose work will focus on the evaluation and design of regional cohesion policies.
