About
The Peterson Institute for International Economics has organized, jointly with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the World Bank, a two-day conference to bring together leading economists, policymakers, international institutions, and practitioners to examine how artificial intelligence (AI), demographic change, and shifting patterns of international specialization are reshaping labor markets and the future of work.
In research presentations and high-level discussions, speakers explore how AI is transforming jobs, productivity, and global patterns of specialization; how aging and growing youth populations are reshaping labor supply and skills; and what governments, businesses, and workers can do to navigate these profound changes. Sessions highlight policies that can foster good job creation, support workforce transitions and skills development, and promote private-sector dynamism. The conference features a keynote address by Gordon Hanson, the Peter Wertheim Professor in Urban Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, alongside a distinguished lineup of senior policymakers, academics, and experts from around the world.
Featured Speakers
- Ahmad Al-Yamani, CEO, Takamol Holding
- Jason Furman, Nonresident Senior Fellow, PIIE; Aetna Professor of the Practice of Economic Policy, Harvard University
- Niki Kerameus, Greek Minister of Labor and Social Security
- Aart Kraay, Chief Economist of the Prosperity Vertical, World Bank
- Bo Li, Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
- Adam S. Posen, President, Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Stefano Scarpetta, Chief Economist, G7/G20 Finance Deputy, and Head of the Economics Department, OECD
Schedule
Tuesday, November 17, 2026
Welcome remarks
Adam S. Posen, PIIE
Keynote remarks
Speaker
Gordon Hanson, Harvard University
Moderator
Jed Kolko, PIIE
Session 1: Structural transformation, demographics, and labor market frictions
Chair
Sandeep Mahajan, World Bank Group
Presenters
- Marta Domínguez-Jiménez, CEMFI
The demographic origins of premature deindustrialization - Martí Mestieri, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Jobless modernity - Niklas Engbom, New York University
Missallocative growth
Discussant
Meghana Ayyagari, George Washington University
Session 2: AI and labor markets
Chair
Laura Alfaro, Inter-American Development Bank
Presenters
- Marina Mendes Tavares, IMF
Bridging skill gaps for the future: New jobs creation in the AI age - Faezeh Khosravi, Georgia State University
Generative AI and firm hiring demand: Evidence from developed and developing economies - Daniele Angelini, University of Vienna
Aging population and technology adoption
Discussant
Prasanna Tambe, University of Pennsylvania
Policy panel
Moderator
Manuela Francisco, World Bank Group
Panelists
- Jason Furman, PIIE; Harvard University
- Niki Kerameus, Government of Greece
- Ahmad Al-Yamani, Takamol Holding
- Signe Krogstrup, Danmarks Nationalbank
Wednesday, November 18, 2026
Session 3: Technology, new jobs, and skills
Chair
Antonio Spilimbergo, IMF
Presenters
- Tucker Smith, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Degrees for GPTs: The effects of generative AI on skill demand and supply - Tarek Hassan, Boston University
New technologies and the college premium - Julian Jacobs, Google DeepMind; University of Oxford
Do US retraining programs protect against technological automation?
Discussant
Tito Boeri, Bocconi University
Session 4: AI and its implications for emerging-market and developing economies
Chair
Asa Johansson, OECD
Presenters
- Hernan Winkler, Inter-American Development Bank
Disruption without dividend? How the digital divide and task differences split generative AI's global impact - Gabriel Marin, University of Pennsylvania
The informal buffer: How labor market duality mediates automation and AI exposure in Mexico - Filippo Bontadini, Luiss Guido Carli University
Exposure to digital automation and jobs in global value chains
Discussant
David Kaplan, Inter-American Development Bank
Chief economists panel
Moderator
Adam S. Posen, PIIE
Panelists
- Aart Kraay, World Bank Group
- Bo Li, IMF
- Stefano Scarpetta, OECD
Session 5: AI diffusion
Chair
Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, PIIE
Presenters
- Filiz Unsal, OECD
- John Graham, Duke University
Artificial intelligence, productivity, and the workforce: Evidence from corporate executives - Hannah Wei, IMF
Emerging trends in global technology diffusion: Does artificial intelligence differ from other new technologies? - Danial Lashkari, London School of Economics and Political Science
AI and scale: A quantitative task-based theory of automation
Discussant
Rodimiro Rodrigo, George Washington University
Conference organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), and the World Bank