Centre Stage

IM-TCD | International Macro-TCD

What is IM-TCD

IM-TCD (International Macro-TCD) is a research unit within the Department of Economics at Trinity College Dublin, focused on high-quality policy-relevant research in international macroeconomics and finance. Founded in 2016, IM-TCD brings together researchers studying how economies evolve and respond to major challenges—from inflation and financial crises to demographic change, labour market disruptions and climate shocks.  

IM-TCD’s mission is to contribute to the global conversation on economic policy through academic research, dialogue, and engagement with policymakers and market practitioners.  

So, what are macroeconomics?

Macroeconomics studies how entire economies, consisting of numerous households and firms each making their own decisions, fluctuate, grow, and interact with one another, and how policies can shape these processes and improve their outcomes. Macroeconomic questions sit at the heart of decisions made every day by governments, central banks, and international institutions that shape the economic lives of millions of people. And crucially,  understanding how economies have behaved in the past is one of the most powerful tools we have for navigating the challenges of the present. 

What are some of IM-TCD's research highlights?

International economics and finance have consistently been a strong focus of IM-TCD, with numerous publications on international capital flows and financial integration, and the transmission of global shocks across countries. IM-TCD’s research also routinely speaks to monetary policy, including the drivers of inflation, such as expectations of households and firms, and firms’ profit margins, the role of central banks in maintaining financial stability, and the institutions that underpin effective monetary policy.  

Central Bank Independence

For example, the independence of central banks is essential for their ability to achieve their objectives, but it has recently come under pressure in several major economies. IM-TCD’s Davide Romelli has been at the forefront of research on central bank independence and has designed an index tracking how the governance of central banks has evolved across more than a hundred countries over decades. The index has become a reference point for researchers and policymakers worldwide, informing debates at the ECB, IMF, and White House Council of Economic Advisers, and attracting coverage from the Financial Times and The Economist.  

Economic Growth

IM-TCD members also examine the longer-term forces shaping economies, including the drivers of economic growth and major structural transformations such as technological change and the green transition, as well as their broader economic and policy implications. Another important strand studies population ageing and its far-reaching consequences for economic growth, investment, trade, and the effectiveness of fiscal and monetary policy. 

What else does IM-TCD do?

Beyond its research output, IM-TCD runs an active programme of events that connects Trinity economists with leading researchers and institutions from around the world and promotes dialogue at various levels. 

Events

First, IM-TCD organises events dedicated to advancing knowledge on pressing macroeconomic questions, often jointly with policy institutions, providing a platform for academics, policymakers and market practitioners to exchange ideas and develop better solutions. These links have long been part of IM-TCD. Agustín Benetrix has organised multiple workshops in international economics in collaboration with central banks and other policy institutions, including a conference honouring Patrick Honohan, former Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland and IM-TCD member, for his contributions to Irish economic policy. Another former Governor and IM-TCD member is Philip Lane, now Chief Economist of the European Central Bank. In 2020, Lane delivered a special lecture jointly hosted by IM-TCD and the Department of Economics on monetary policy during the pandemic and the ECB’s response to the crisis. 

Visitors

Second, IM-TCD brings major economic and policy debates to the wider Trinity community through student-facing events, creating opportunities to engage with leading economists, including during the visit of Gita Gopinath, then First Deputy Managing Director and former Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund. 

Virtual Seminar Series

Third, IM-TCD also facilitates international knowledge exchange through its virtual seminar series. Since 2020, it has been bringing cutting-edge macroeconomic research from top academic and policy institutions to anyone who wishes to attend, from anywhere in the world.

Women in Macroeconomics Workshop 

IM-TCD also promotes diversity in macroeconomics. In response to the severe underrepresentation of women in the field, IM-TCD’s Martyna Marczak and Vitaliia Yaremko initiated the “Women in Macroeconomics” workshop in collaboration with the Irish Society for Women in Economics and the Central Bank of Ireland, bringing together women researchers from across Europe and U.S. to exchange knowledge and build networks across the profession. This is one of only a few initiatives of a similar kind in Europe.   

As IM-TCD marks its 10th anniversary, it celebrates a decade shaped by intellectual ambition and policy engagement — while looking to an even more ambitious decade ahead.  

Visit IM-TCD's website