Every year since 1996 Tim has organized a workshop in dynamic macroeconomics in Galicia with the help of the macroeconomists from the Universidade de Vigo and Omar Licandro, Franck Portier, and Jose-Victor Rios-Rull. This workshop, which is funded by the Fundación Pedro Barrié de la Maza, allows young people - advanced Ph.D. students and new professors - to receive intense feedback on their work from senior macroeconomists. Senior participants in the workshop, besides the organizers, have included Caroline Betts, Michele Boldrin, David de la Croix, Javier Diaz, Ayse Imrohoroglu, Jean-Olivier Hairault, Gary Hansen, Tom Holmes, Finn Kydland, David Levine, Antonio Manresa, Ed Prescott, Chris Telmer, Harald Uhlig, Javier Vallés, and Christian Zimmermann.
Crucial to the success of the workshop is the local team of macroeconomists. They call themselves the Minnesotos of Vigo.
The workshop takes place in a pazo (which is Gallego for palace/castle) near the village of Soutomaior in the province of Pontevedra in Galicia (northwestern Spain).
The sessions are intense. So is the fun. The pazo's guesthouse has a fantastic bodega, where we stay up till the early morning, drinking beer and talking about economics.
Galicia is famous for its fish and seafood. We usually go to a bar/restaurant, O'Xe, that serves an incredible dish of lobster with rice.
Another favorite spot for workshop participants is As Grades, which serves a cazuela of fish and potatoes that convinces you that potatoes are very much underappreciated outside Galicia.
We also often go into the old quarter of Pontevedra for a night of tapas.
Of course, there is also lots of time for serious economics during and after the sessions.
