In the 1990’s experts and officials spent much time analyzing the origins of financial crises in emerging economies and trying to prevent them. Paradoxically, the world economy was concomitantly enjoying a remarkable growth. This conference set out to provide the context and reasons for these contradictory circumstances by asking the question: “Are imbalances connected to prosperity?”More specifically, participants discussed the macroeconomic implications of sovereign wealth funds and how the international financial system responds to monetary policy that has the capacity to create credit. For years, economists have considered that, in the process of financial globalization, markets have evolved toward more efficient functioning and more resilient mechanisms. The turmoil on global markets at the time of this seminar was the first real test for many recent financial innovations, and we all know the outcomes that followed…