We invite detailed proposals and preferably draft research papers. Proposals should be submitted electronically to Mr. Rabah Arezki at rabah.arezki@uca.fr and/or Rick van der Ploeg at rick.vanderploeg@economics.ox.ac.uk no later than April 3, 2026. We will make the final selection of papers to be included in the Conference. Authors will be notified by April 19, 2026 if their paper has been selected.
The Journal of International Money and Finance will publish a special issue of this Conference with a special selection of the papers presented at this conference. The issue will be edited by Galina Hale (co-editor, JIMF) with Laura Alfaro Maykall (IDB), Rabah Arezki (CNRS), Osmel Manzano (IDB), and Rick van der Ploeg (Oxford) as Guest Editors.
A race is raging among the superpowers over critical materials to power the simultaneous energy and digital transitions the world is experiencing. While the energy and digital transitions both rely on technologies that require these critical minerals, the clean energy transition is most prominently associated with the intensive use of such minerals. Technologies including wind turbines, solar PVs, electricity networks, electric vehicles and nuclear power require materials such as copper, lithium, nickel, silicon, cobalt, rare earth elements and uranium. International and financial developments in these markets will hence determine not only the path at which the global economy transition away from fossil fuel but also the path at which it will prosper.
The compartmentalization of sourcing of key supplies such as critical minerals could escalate further through non-tariff barriers including cartelization motivated by national security concerns. The risk of fragmentation over the race to power the energy transition is real. The consequences of the over-reliance of Europe on Russia for gas is a stark reminder of the risk pertaining to the dependence on China for the critical minerals needed for the green transition. In addition to demand- and supply-side factors, financial factors including in market structure and trading could drive the risk of weaponization of critical minerals.
While the United States and the European Union represent major poles of consumption of these minerals, China’s role in the supply chain is central in the global economy, and understanding this centrality is paramount. China’s already exercise a significant control over supply chains involving the processing of critical materials and rare earth elements. This oversized control over supply chains, coupled with the concentration of production of these critical materials, has raised concerns in the US and the EU which have launched plans to formulate new industrial policies and secure access to critical materials and homemade supply chains to limit dependence on China.
The ramping up of mining activities for critical minerals will have severe environmental, health, and social consequences. Mining activities can cause irreversible damage to the environment and are also an important source of emissions of greenhouse gases, thus undermining climate goals. The risk of environmental damage is exacerbated by NIMBY politics in industrialized countries, which consume these critical minerals in abundance.
There is ample room here for international corporations, especially those headquartered in industrialized countries, to step up their efforts and adhere to their home standards to avoid an environmental and health disaster in the most vulnerable countries where these minerals are extracted. If not confronted, these environmental degradations will leave behind people in the developing countries where critical minerals are extracted. These environmental risks are on top of the risk of developing countries not getting their fair share out of the exploitation of critical minerals by multinational corporations.
Understanding these developments is important, considering the tensions which are building between major powers. Considering those increasingly complex developments, the purpose of this conference is to foster the understanding of international and financial developments in critical minerals.
This conference seeks draft papers or detailed proposals for theoretical and empirical papers analyzing international and financial dimensions of critical minerals. Topics might involve: 1) international developments in markets for critical minerals, 2) international restrictions and cartelization of critical minerals, 3) supply chains in critical minerals, 4) trading and ownership concentration in critical minerals, 5) geopolitical dimensions of the exploitation critical minerals, 6) international spillovers from industrial policies and the race for critical minerals, 7) profit sharing between advanced and developing countries in critical materials and 8) international dimensions of environmental consequences of the exploitation of critical minerals in the green transition.
Since its launch in 1982, Journal of International Money and Finance has built up a solid reputation as a high quality scholarly journal devoted to theoretical and empirical research in the fields of international monetary economics, international finance, and the rapidly developing overlap area between the two. Today, it is one of the key journals in the field of modern finance. A special issue of JIMF on International and Financial Dimensions of Critical Minerals will showcase this literature among a broader finance audience.
The conference will be organized to bring together international frontrunners. During the conference up to 9 high quality papers on international and financial dimensions of critical minerals will be presented and discussed, while at the same time allowing time for discussing the research agenda and needs of tomorrow.
The call for papers for the conference will be advertised at various outlets (SSRN, etc) in order to attract a wide diversity of high-quality submissions. Up to 9 papers will be selected on quality, scope and relevance, and scheduled for presentation in the conference program. Authors will be expected to present their paper at the conference. Travel and accommodation costs of presenters will be covered by the organizers. The papers should represent original research not presented or published elsewhere. Since the papers are intended for publication, authors will not be able to publish or reprint the work elsewhere without the permission of the editors and publisher.
June 10, 2026
18.30-21.30 Welcome drinks and dinner
June 11, 2026
09.00-12.00 Paper presentations and discussions
12.00-13.30 Lunch
13.30-16.30 Paper presentations and discussions
17.30-21.30 Drinks and closing dinner
