Conflicts of Interest and the Structures of Trust in Countries in Transition
Second International Conference "Finance – Ethics – Responsibility"
March 20-21, 2002, Cracow University of Economics, Poland
CALL FOR PAPERS
Scientific Committee:
Jan-Krzysztof Bielecki (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London); Paul H. Dembinski (Observatoire de la Finance, Geneva); Nicolas Hayoz (University. of Fribourg); Lubomir Mlcoch (Charles Univ, Prague); Stanislaw Owsiak (Krakow Uniersity of Economics); Stefano Zamagni (University. of Bologna); Maciej Zieba op (Tertio Millennio Institute, Krakow)
Trust is one of the most important factors without which economic contracts and transactions are impossible. However trust can be embedded in many types of social institutions and relationships. Some of them totally institutionalised such as contract laws, others more personal such as networks or even totally private such as criminal associations.
Finance requires trust. More than any other type of transaction, financial dealings require trust between the parties as the etymology of « credit » recalls it. Finance relies on either institutionalised or personal trust. The symposium aims at investigating the complex process of changing the structures of trust in transition countries.
Transition has shaken or even destroyed many of the structures of trust that existed under the previous system. Some of them disappeared, others still survive in a more or less underground form. The reshaping of the structures of trust, the coexistence of different types of structures of trust, their incompatibilities and conflicts of interest this situation may bring about have to be addressed from a multidisciplinary perspective encompassing the sociological, anthropological, ethical, political, economic and financial perspective. Last but not least, the symposium will also address the policy measures that could be employed to foster the emergence of a homogenisation of trust structures compatible with democracy and market economy.
Proposals of papers addressing different aspects of the problem are welcomed and should be addressed to Krakow University of Economics not later than October 31 2001 (owsiaks@ae.krakow.pl) or to the Observatoire de la Finance (dembinski@ecodiagnostic.ch ). The authors of proposals will be informed not later than November 30 2001:
* typology of forms and sources of conflicts of
interest;
* how to establish institutional trust in conditions of transition;
* conflicts of interest: the legal and ethical dimension;
* institutional trust and weak state;
* private trust vs. institutional trust in finance and corporate governance;
* neither public nor private - playground for corruption and criminal networks;
* privatisation, corporate governance and asset stripping;
* banks and insurance companies - public trust and private confidence;
* global standards and transparency.
