The initiative aims to provide a platform for knowledge exchange, the presentation of recent research findings and the development of academic collaboration. The seminars will take place monthly on the Lazarski University campus, bringing together researchers to share their expertise, present their work and strengthen cooperation within the international academic community. The seminar series is coordinated by Krzysztof Beck,PhD.
During the inaugural lecture, entitled “The Term Structure of Commodity Futures Prices as a Predictor of Economic Activity”, Dr Aikaterini Karadimitropoulou presented the findings of research conducted jointly with Marcos Poplawski-Ribeiro and Athanasios Triantafyllou. The researchers examined the relationship between developments in global commodity markets and changes in economic conditions.
The study covered nine commodities, including crude oil, natural gas, gold, copper and agricultural products, alongside macroeconomic data from advanced and emerging economies. The researchers investigated the extent to which changes in the relationship between futures prices across different maturities could signal future economic trends.
The findings suggest that monitoring developments in commodity markets can provide valuable insights into the future direction of the global economy. Common trends in futures prices across different markets may reflect changes in global demand, helping to forecast economic growth, investment and exports. The indicator developed by the researchers demonstrated greater predictive power for economic activity than selected conventional measures used in macroeconomic analysis.
The inaugural seminar highlighted the importance of combining different research perspectives when addressing contemporary economic challenges. Future sessions will provide further opportunities for academic discussion and for strengthening collaboration with researchers from the international academic community.
