Jakob Viskum Vestergaard

Research

I am interested in the role of central banks in the evolution of capitalism. I take a particular interest monetary policy and financial regulation, and the extent to which policies and practices in this area contribute in the best way possible to stability and sustainability.

Another core interest is global economic governance in the shape of efforts to reform and strengthen the international financial architecture, with a particular focus on role played by international organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but also by more informal and less representative bodies, such as the G20, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the NGFS (Network for Greening the Financial System).

Last but not least, as a third layer of interest, I investigate how central banks and international financial institutions (such as the World Bank and the IMF) are themselves governed, through formal mandates and practices of representation in combination with informal mechanisms of accountability.

I address these different research interests drawing on historical institutionalism, institutional economics, and governance theory.

Teaching

My teaching activities and interests:

• Institutional Economics
• International Public Economics
• Global Political Economy
• History and Politics of Money and Finance 
• History of Economic Thought
• Modern Economic History

I have take particular interest in supervising projects that engages with economic discourse from a constructivist perspective.    

Management and Cooperation

I have experience with research management from the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), where I headed the research group on global political economy and from Roskilde University, where I co-founded and headed the research group on Economic Policy, Institutions and Change (EPIC). I am currently Head of Studies for Socio-Economics at Roskilde University.

Contributing to policy debates in Denmark and abroad is an important, personal objective. I have written more than 15 op-eds for leading international media (Financial Times, New York Times, etc) and more than 60 op-eds for Danish media (Information, Weekendavisen, Berlingske, Politiken, Jyllands-Posten).