EPGE, in a partnership with Vale, held on August 16 and 17 the seminar The economics and econometrics of commodities prices.

The vice-director of EPGE, Aloísio Araújo, attended the opening ceremony along with the President of Vale, Murilo Ferreira, who commented on the investment decisions of the company under the current international scenario.

Among the invited speakers of the event were the Nobel Prize in Economics, Robert Engle, and professors Thierry Verdier (Paris School of Economics), Eswar Prasad (Cornell University and Brookings Institution), Vinícius Carrasco (PUC-RJ), John Cuddington (Colorado School of Mines ), Hélyette Geman (Commodity Finance Centre, University of London and ESCP Europe), Jan Groen (Federal Reserve Bank of New York), Diane Pierret (Université Catholique de Louvain), Roberto Rigobon (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel (PUC-Chile) and Allan Timmermann (University of California San Diego), who address the volatility of commodity prices, fiscal policies, econometric challenges, taxation, tax competition, among other topics.

The EPGE professors, João Victor Issler and Pedro Ferreira, also attended the event with the lectures Comparing the accuracy of different models' predictions for metal commodities prices and Productivity, institutional reforms and trade in Brazil, respectively.

The addressed issue - of global concern - has been relevant to explain the recent behavior of the Brazilian economy. The seminar presented proposals and initiatives applicable to the experience of developing countries, as well as issues of global economic impact.