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Official Opening of the Centre for Economic and Firm Research at Aarhus University (CEFAU)

Malene Vindfeldt Skals — Fri, 29 May 2026 14:00:00 +0200

Food inspections and differentiated VAT, tariffs, and trade barriers, AIs impact on the labour market, and SMEs' exports to the United States.

These are all business economics topics that have, to varying degrees, dominated public debate in Denmark over the past year, with researchers and analysts from CEFAU contributing to the discussion through research briefs, opinion pieces, and media appearances.

Led by economics professors Michael Svarer and Philipp Schröder, and supported by a donation from the Salling Foundations and Aarhus BSS, the centre was established in the autumn of 2025. The centre will now officially open with presentations and a panel debate on the current situation and framework conditions for the business community.

Programme

Welcome by Philipp Schröder and Michael Svarer (Directors of CEFAU)
Jørgen Vig Knudstorp (Nike, Starbucks): Why are Danish companies successful?
Panel debate: Including geopolitical and trade policy uncertainty, AI in Danish companies, and modern industrial policy. Participants: Marianne Dahl (Telenor, Teito, DTU), Jens Bjerg Sørensen (Schouw & Co., Danfoss, the Salling Foundations), and Brian Bech Nielsen (Aarhus University). Moderator: Laura Hay Uggla
Nina Smith (Aarhus University): How can Danish companies' access to qualified labour be strengthened?
Michael Koch (CEFAU): How does AI affect Danish companies?
Allan Sørensen (CEFAU): What characterises successful export companies?

CEFAU FIRM Workshop, Spring 2026

Malene Vindfeldt Skals — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0200

This semesters CEFAU FIRM Workshop is organized together with CEFAU Senior Fellow Hartmut Egger (University of Bayreuth). While FIRM is of course what many of us work on, it could also stand for Forum for Ideas and Research in Motion.

In other words, the workshop is intended as a friendly forum for CEFAU members to present and discuss new research ideas, preliminary results, or more advanced projects.

Programme - TBA

The XXth Danish International Economics Workshop - DIEW 2026

Birgitte Højklint Nielsen — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0200

The XXth Danish International Economics Workshop is to be held in Aarhus, Denmark, 25-26 June 2026. The venue is Aarhus International Sailing Center.
The workshop is hosted by Centre for Economic and Firm Research, Aarhus University (CEFAU), with the support of a donation from Købmand Herman Salling's Foundation.

Keynote speakers:

Amit Khandelwal, Yale University
Mathieu Parenti, Paris School of Economics.

The aim of the workshop is to bring together researchers working on issues in international economics. Focus will be on scientific exchange, facilitating collaborative research and contacts among researchers, as well as offering junior researchers an opportunity to present their work and establish closer contacts among researchers based in Denmark and international researchers in the international economics field.

Papers should be submitted electronically by March 1, 2026, to Malene Vindfeldt Skals (malska@econ.au.dk) in PDF format only; decisions will be made on March 15. The only requirement in terms of topics is that papers should have at least one JEL code of category F. Please also indicate whether you would accept to be a discussant.

The core program of the workshop will run on both Thursday and Friday.

Please note that participants must cover their own travel costs. The organisers cover accommodation for up to three nights (24-27 June), all conference costs, and a conference dinner on Thursday June 25.

Call for Papers
Program
List of participants

For further information, please contact the organizing committee: Michael Koch (mkoch@econ.au.dk) or Luca Macedoni (lmacedoni@econ.au.dk).