Next Monday, June 6, a significant event will take place at the public institution located in the former Murcia Station in Alicante. The Forum + Europe, organized by INFORMATION Y Mediterranean House, will host a distinguished speaker, Nobel laureate Christopher Pissarides, who received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2010. The session is scheduled to begin at 09:30 and will focus on the evolving landscape of employment in the era of digitization and post-pandemic transformation.
Joining Pissarides will be a panel of notable figures, including Carmen Smith, a professor of Fundamentals of Economic Analysis at the University of Alicante, and Andres Perello, the director of Casa Mediterráneo. Tony Cabot will act as moderator, guiding a discussion that reflects the collaborative efforts of the Alicante Chamber of Commerce, the European Union Intellectual Property Office, Miguel Hernández University, the Rei Jaume I Awards Foundation, and the Generalitat Valenciana.
Christopher Pissarides, affiliated with the London School of Economics since 1973, is renowned for his deep explorations into labor markets and their links to economic growth and structural shifts. His pioneering work on unemployment has earned him global recognition, culminating in the formulation of the Equilibrium Theory of Unemployment and the accompanying Nobel Prize in 2010, an achievement shared with Peter Diamond of MIT and Dale Mortensen of Northwestern University.
The dialogue will examine the frictions that characterize modern labor markets and the challenges faced by job seekers and employers alike. It will address how unemployment benefits, minimum wage policies, and other institutional mechanisms influence job matching and overall economic stability. The conversation also promises to explore how automation and new technologies are reshaping labor dynamics, including the impacts of artificial intelligence. In recent years, these themes have gained urgency as telework and digital collaboration reshape where and how work gets done.
Forum + Europe represents a collaborative initiative between INFORMATION and Casa Mediterráneo. The program has drawn support from prominent European and regional figures, including Frans Timmermans, vice president of the European Commission; Joaquin Almunia, a former EU Economic Commissioner; and Josep Borrell, who has held high-level roles within EU foreign policy. The event underscores a sustained commitment to discussing economic policy, labor market resilience, and the role of innovation in Europe’s future.