The topic of the conference was well chosen, as there is a continuing debate on the role of global imbalances and international financial integration as an amplifier or even a cause of the current financial crisis. There is no doubt that the degree of international financial integration has determined the size of the crisis and the speed with which it has spread.
The quick spillover of the financial turmoil from the US housing market, where it started in the summer of 2007, to financial markets all over the world and the fact that virtually all industrialised countries have been affected are unprecedented. A more subtle question is the extent to which financial integration and global imbalances contributed to its emergence.