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CERGE-EI launches John Bates Clark Medal Talks with Oleg Itskhoki

25 March, 2026

CERGE-EI is launching a new public lecture series, the John Bates Clark Medal Talks, highlighting the work of outstanding young economists whose research is shaping the future of the field.

The inaugural lecture will feature Oleg Itskhoki of Harvard University, a leading macroeconomist and recipient of the 2022 John Bates Clark Medal, one of the most prestigious awards in economics. The event will take place on Monday, 11 May 2026, at 15:00 in Room 7.

As CERGE-EI Director Marek Kapička explains: “Launched as part of CERGE-EI’s 35th anniversary celebrations, the series will bring to CERGE-EI economists who have recently received the John Bates Clark Medal, offering students, researchers, and the wider public an opportunity to engage with cutting-edge economic research and the ideas driving major policy debates.”

Itskhoki’s lecture, titled “The Optimal Macro Tariff,” will explore a question that has moved to the center of public debate in many countries: can tariffs protect jobs, strengthen industry, and reduce trade deficits?

Drawing on new economic research, the lecture will show that tariffs do far more than affect the price of imported goods. They also influence exchange rates, international capital flows, and the balance between a country’s debts and assets in the global economy.

Focusing on the United States, Itskhoki will explain why the real effects of tariffs are often very different from those suggested in political debate. Rather than simply making a country stronger, tariffs can shift adjustment into financial markets and currency movements, with uncertain consequences for growth, inequality, and global stability.

Designed for a broad audience, the lecture will provide insight into the hidden economic forces behind today’s trade conflicts and one of the defining economic issues of our time.

The event is open to the public. Advance registration is required, as capacity is limited.

The John Bates Clark Medal Talks lecture series at CERGE-EI is supported by Pale Fire Capital.