Eye on Alumni: Antoni Targa '11
Antoni Targa (Macroeconomic Policy and Financial Markets) is a trainee in the European Central Bank's Directorate General Economics, Economic Developments. In his projects, he uses content from his Barcelona GSE master courses in Time Series, Empirical Finance, and Macroeconomic Modelling and Estimation.
Tell us a bit about your projects at the ECB.
Recent surges in oil prices pose challenging inflationary pressures in the Euro Area. This situation urged the ECB to further incorporate developments from the literature and produce better short-term forecasts for oil prices. I work on a project aimed to do that using advanced econometric techniques. The theoretical background and computational skills gained at the Barcelona GSE have been key to succeed in this task.
Working with Prof. Lutz Kilian, one of the world authorities in the field and a renowned specialist from the ECB, as well as knowing that the Executive Board will decide whether to update the current model with the outcome of my work, is a permanent call to its relevance and a daily stimulus. If our results are confirmed, the project may be published in the ECB’s Working Paper series. I can only be thankful to the Barcelona GSE for empowering me to conduct these tasks! Certainly I can say that without having joined the Barcelona GSE master program, my ability to carry out my current project wouldn’t be adequate.
Which of your master courses have been most helpful for your work?
I’m mostly using contents covered in the courses Time Series, Empirical Finance and Macroeconomic Modeling and Estimation. In my next project I would like to use contents from International Macroeconomics and Fiscal Policy, and Monetary Policy. I have already met 7 members of the faculty of the school visiting the ECB presenting work and as external consultants. The Barcelona GSE is highly recognized by the economists of the bank. In this sense I encourage current students to apply for existing graduate programs in the ECB!
You decided to postpone your doctoral studies to take this position. Any regrets?
With changes in interest rates, international agreements with the Federal Reserve and other central banks, the turnover of Jean-Claude Trichet by Mario Draghi, the evolution of the debt crisis, all the hearsay regarding sustainability of the status quo and a context of increased social sensitivity to the relevance of macroeconomic policy—the last months have been particularly intense inside the ECB. I consider myself lucky to witness the current evolution of European fiscal and monetary policies, and in this sense I don’t regret having postponed pursuing my PhD plans. Ex-ante the decision was less clear but a contract extension gained recently has helped! I am grateful to the Barcelona GSE professors who helped me achieve this goal.
In addition, the management of the Division has proposed that I work on another project, on a topic ranging from fiscal, labor and productivity dynamics in the US and Japan, to exchange rates and the effect of forces observed in the commodities’ markets, main duties of the Division.
Barcelona GSE Alumni & Friends Home
RSS