Eesti Pank will host a lecture in its Independence Hall on 7 July at 11.00–12.00 by the President of Deutsche Bundesbank, the German central bank, Dr Joachim Nagel, who will speak on “The German economy: navigating cyclical fluctuations and boosting long-term growth”. The lecture will be in English.

Economic developments across Europe, especially in Germany as its largest economy, have a significant impact on the outlook for Estonia as a small and open economy. Understanding how Germany is navigating the current economic challenges provides valuable insights for Estonia’s own policy discussions on competitiveness, productivity, and sustainable growth.

Dr Nagel will discuss the current state of the German economy and the main drivers of the outlook for the business cycle. He will also explore which structural reforms could put the German economy back on a path of growth. He will conclude his lecture with some thoughts on how a stronger, more united Europe can better withstand the various risks from the global economy and geopolitical threats.

About the speaker

Dr Joachim Nagel has been President of the Deutsche Bundesbank since 2022. Prior to this, he had already served in management positions at the Bundesbank between 1999 and 2016, including as an Executive Board member. He is one of the most influential figures in economic and financial policy in Germany, and he has played a key role in shaping debates on inflation control, interest rates, and financial stability within the euro area.

From 2016 to 2020, he worked for the KfW Group, a German state-owned development bank, including as an Executive Board member. In 2020, he moved to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) where he became Deputy Head of the Banking Department. He serves as a member of the Governing Council of the ECB, a Governor at the IMF and a member of the BIS Board of Directors.

The lecture will be broadcast online for anyone who wants to listen to it on the Eesti Pank website and YouTube and Facebook channels. Attendance in person is by invitation.

The lecture is part of a series of lectures dedicated to the memory of the economist Professor Ragnar Nurkse. Professor Ragnar Nurkse was an economist from Estonia who gained international recognition in the 1940s and 1950s. Eesti Pank started the lecture series dedicated to Professor Nurkse in 2007.