NOITS conference held by the University of Akureyri

The NOITS conference was held from 30 September to 1 October in Reykjavík under the supervision of Professor Helga Kristjánsdóttir on behalf of the University of Akureyri. 

To encourage co-operation between the Nordic countries in the field of international economics, NOITS conference is held annually, in which about 30 foreign scholars are invited to participate. Participants are professors, researchers, and doctoral students in the Nordic countries, along with one or two keynote speakers from the United States. 

This time, 25 scholars in the field of international economics attended the conference, and 14 lecturers presented academic papers. The keynote speaker this year was Miklós Koren, from the Central European University, he presented research titled "Foreign Firms and Foreign Managers", which discussed foreign companies and foreign direct investment in Hungary concerning productivity and other related aspects. 

Conference guests

"The importance of the conference for the community is considerable. Research has shown that international trade is essential for small economies, like Iceland, which are not self-sufficient in production to the same extent as larger economies. International Economic literature focuses on international trade in the form of exports and imports and foreign direct investment. Foreign direct investment can have a considerable positive economic impact. It enriches development opportunities in all sectors of the economy, creating employment opportunities and diversity in the economy. Moreover, investors involved in foreign direct investment are generally patient and willing to invest in this type of investment for many years, which contributes to long-term stability", says Helga Kristjánsdóttir. 

  Helga Kristjánsdóttir, professor at the University of Akureyri and Andreas Moxnes professor at the University of Oslo

This is the third time that Helga is in charge of organizing the NOITS conference in Iceland, as she initiated the conference in 2006 and in 2012. 

More information about the NOITS conferences is available here and more information about the research of Helga Kristjánsdóttir is available here.