The Future of EMU

by Talani, Leila Simona

• ISBN13: 9780230218413
• ISBN10: 0230218415
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-02-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

As European integration continues, the future of EMU becomes ever more important. Can EMU help create an#xA0;integrated European community, or will it prove a hindrance to the EU project? This book brings together the#xA0;experts in the area to provide an interdisciplinary perspective on the issues expected to face EMU over the next few decades.

Author Biography

LEILA SIMONA TALANI is a Lecturer in International and European Politics and Political Economy at the University of Bath, UK as well as a Research Associate at the London School of Economics. Her thesis was published as Betting For and Against EMU. She is also the author of European Political Economy: Political Science Perspectives, Between Growth and Stability: The Demise and Reform of the Stability and Growth Pact, Back to Maastricht, EU and the Balkans: Policy of Integration and Disintegration and From Egypt to Europe.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. x
List of Tables	p. xii
List of Contributors	p. xiii
Preface	p. xiv
Introduction	p. 1
Some Thoughts on Monetary and Political Union	p. 9
Introduction	p. 9
The many dimensions of a political union	p. 10
The theory of optimum currency areas and political union	p. 11
How does political integration affect the optimality of a monetary union?	p. 13
Asymmetric shocks and lack of political union	p. 15
Criticism of the traditional OCA theory	p. 18
Comparing the two views	p. 19
A preliminary evaluation	p. 21
The institutional weakness of the present euro-zone governance	p. 22
Conclusion: the need for further political integration	p. 24
European Fiscal Policy Co-ordination and the Persistent Myth of Stabilization	p. 29
Introduction	p. 29
Stabilization and adjustment	p. 30
Fiscal stabilization	p. 42
International fiscal stabilization	p. 47
Where do we go from here?	p. 49
The Role of Preferences and the Sustainability of EMU	p. 54
Introduction	p. 54
Two divergent views on the means to achieve monetary integration in Europe	p. 55
Converging preferences on inflation and the role of monetary policy	p. 57
The first test to the commitment to exchange rate and price stability	p. 60
A framework of analysis for the sustainability of EMU	p. 62
Endogenous preferences	p. 66
Conclusion	p. 69
Globalization vs. Europeanization: Assessing the Impact of EMU on Business Cycle Affiliation	p. 75
Introduction	p. 75
Is there a European business cycle?	p. 76
Measuring business cycle affiliations	p. 77
Clustering	p. 78
Globalization vs. Europeanization?	p. 82
Conclusion	p. 86
EMU and the Euro-Mediterranean Dialogue: Trade Interdependence between Mediterranean and Euro-area Countries	p. 89
Introduction	p. 89
Currency unions and trade integration south of the Mediterranean	p. 90
The Barcelona Conference and the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership	p. 92
A simple empirical evaluation	p. 94
Data	p. 97
Results	p. 97
Conclusion	p. 104
Data Appendix	p. 105
In and Out of Monetary Unions: Lessons From, and Risks For the EMU. An Alternative Approach to Monetary Unions	p. 110
Introduction	p. 110
The evolution of the OCA theory	p. 112
A new conceptual scheme: the basic steps	p. 116
The model	p. 123
The model simulations: the two-speed Europe	p. 134
Concluding remarks: the future of EMU and the OCA theory	p. 139
EMU and the Quest for Competitiveness	p. 144
Introduction	p. 144
The quest for competitiveness in theory	p. 145
Conclusion: the future of EMU. Structural reforms and the crisis of the SGP	p. 156
The Lisbon Strategy, Macroeconomic Stability and the Dilemma of Governance with Governments (Or Why Europe Is Not Becoming the World's Most Dynamic Economy)	p. 161
Introduction	p. 161
Where the Lisbon Strategy is failing	p. 162
The flawed macroeconomic and institutional framework	p. 175
Conclusion	p. 188
Conclusion: the Future of EMU	p. 194
Index	p. 198
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