Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It has been a privilege to host the 17th Annual Congress of the European Economic Association (EEA) and the 57th European Meeting of the Econometric Society (ESEM) here in Venice, Italy. The Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) is honoured to have been given this prestigious task and I trust that all of the Congress participants were suitably satisfied with the rich scientific content and the cultural events that the Congress Organisation chose to offer.

The high number of papers submitted to the Programme Committees (2,229 submissions to EEA and 1,644 submissions to ESEM, 60% higher than last year) together with increased participation numbers registered up until the 20th of June (999 participants for the EEA and 932 participants for ESEM) confirms the interest and enthusiasm that the scientific community reserves for this type of event.

In addition to the high quality of the papers submitted to the Programme Committees through the call for papers, the Congress recognised the presence of international experts with undisputed authority that accepted our invitation to take part in the Congress and offered the participants the most innovative and brightest academic results and findings on an international level.

This year's social events proposed a selection of local Venetian delights, from open-air theatre performances and a wine tasting extravaganza to a gala dinner for both the EEA & ESEM participants, held in the spectacular Doges Palace. These events also enable each participant to enjoy further discussion and the valuable exchange of opinions with their colleagues.

Whilst organising the Congress, it was important to reduce the amount of paper normally produced for such events. This decision was taken both for ecological reasons, but also to enable a more efficient procedure in providing information for all participants. Consequently, the submission of papers, the registration to the Congress and the hotel booking was exclusively on-line.

It was with this in mind that all the participants of the Congress were provided with this Congress Cd-rom, designed to serve as a complete reference point for all the scientific production presented within the Congres. The Congress Cd-rom encompasses all the papers presented in the Congress, their abstracts, the list of participants, and further Congress information.
The Cd rom was created by the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Bertolin, Gambaro, Eberle and Wood in collaboration with Webmeets.com, Cahillane Hynd, Clark.

Besides the Cd-rom, the Congress participants can continue to visit the Congress website (www.eea-esem2002.it) as a progressive font of information. In fact, the papers presented during the Congress are available and downloadable through this site, which will remain in full operation for at least a year.

The Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei would like to acknowledge all the support received from the many forces that have contributed to the success of this event. In particular, FEEM must thank the Programme Committees for their competence and hard work in the structuring of the Scientific Programme, and the European Economic Association and the Econometric Society for continued support and its conviction throughout the preparation and for the duration of the meeting. For all our technical needs a thank you to Webmeets.com, and the Congress Secretariat, Oltrex 4 M S.p.A.

A special thanks to Silvia Bertolin, Monica Eberle, Martina Gambaro, Martina Marian and Marni Wood, whose hard work and dedication have allowed the Congress to enjoy a complete success.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsor Gruppo Unicredito, in particular UniCredito Italiano, UniCredit Banca Mobiliare and Pioneer Investments, and the generous financial support from Banca d'Italia, De Nederlansche Bank, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Bundesbank, the European Central Bank, the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, the Schweizerische National Bank and the Venice Biennale. We are also greatly honoured to have received the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Finance and Economics, the Region of Veneto, the Venice Province and the Municipality of Venice.

I hope you have enjoyed participating at this year's Congress and at the same time that your stay here in Venice proved to be both productive and informative.

Prof. Carlo Carraro
Event Organiser
Research Director, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
Professor of Economics, University of Venice