This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

The Future of EMU: What Does the History of Monetary Unions Tell Us?

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Michael D. Bordo
Lars Jonung

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

The creation of EMU and the ECB has triggered a discussion of the future of EMU. Independent observers have pointed to a number of shortcomings or hazard areas' in the construction of EMU, such as the absence of a central lender of last resort function for EMU, the lack of a central authority supervising the financial systems of EMU, unclear and inconsistent policy guidelines for the ECB, the absence of central co-ordination of fiscal policies within EMU, unduly strict criteria for domestic debt and deficits, as set out in the Maastricht rules, in the face of asymmetric shocks, and Euroland as not an optimal' currency area. Do these 'flaws' represent major threats to the future of EMU? Or will they be successfully resolved by the European policy authorities, leading to a lasting and prosperous EMU? We provide answers to these questions by examining the historical record of monetary unions. We try to extract the key conditions for establishing and for maintaining monetary unions intact. Our main lesson from the history of monetary unions is that political factors will be the central determinants of the future of EMU. The 'economic' shortcomings of EMU will likely be overcome as long as political unity prevails within EMU.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w7365.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: Access to the full text is generally limited to series subscribers, however if the top level domain of the client browser is in a developing country or transition economy free access is provided. More information about subscriptions and free access is available at http://www.nber.org/wwphelp.html.

As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.

Publisher Info
Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 7365.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: Sep 1999
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:7365

Note: ME DAE
Contact details of provider:
Postal: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
Phone: 617-868-3900
Email:
Web page: http://www.nber.org
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: ().

Related research
Keywords:

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
N20 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - General, International, or Comparative

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Martin Feldstein, 1998. "The Political Economy of the European Economic and Monetary Union: Political Sources of an Economic Liability," NBER Working Papers 6150, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Thomas Sargent & Noah Williams & Tao Zha, 2006. "The Conquest of South American Inflation," NBER Working Papers 12606, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Eichengreen, Barry, 1993. "European Monetary Unification," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 31(3), pages 1321-57, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Maurice Obstfeld., 1998. "EMU: Ready, or Not?," Center for International and Development Economics Research (CIDER) Working Papers C98-101, University of California at Berkeley.
    Other versions:
  5. Willem H. Buiter, 1999. "Alice in Euroland," Journal of Common Market Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 37(2), pages 181-209, 06. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. M. Cangiano & Eric Mottu, 1998. "Will Fiscal Policy Be Effective Under EMU?," IMF Working Papers 98/176, International Monetary Fund.
  7. Alesina, Alberto & Wacziarg, Romain, 1999. "Is Europe going too far?," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 1-42, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  8. Fidrmuc, J. & Horvath, J., 1998. "Stability of monetary unions : lessons from the break-up of Czechoslovakia," Discussion Paper 74, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Flandreau, Marc & Le Cacheux, Jacques & Zumer, Frédéric, 1998. "Stability Without a Pact? Lessons from the European Gold Standard 1880-1914," CEPR Discussion Papers 1872, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. Rudiger Dornbusch, 1992. "Monetary problems of post-communism: Lessons from the end of the Austro-Hungarian empire," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer, vol. 128(3), pages 391-424, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Barry Eichengreen & Charles Wyplosz, 1998. "The Stability Pact: more than a minor nuisance?," Economic Policy, CEPR, CES, MSH, vol. 13(26), pages 65-113, 04. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Redish, A., 1991. "The Latin Monetary Union And The Emergence Of The International Gold Standard," UBC Departmental Archives 91-01, UBC Department of Economics.
  13. Bordo, Michael D. & Jonung, Lars, 2000. "A Return to the Convertibility Principle? Monetary And Fiscal Regimes in Historical Perspective," Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance 415, Stockholm School of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  14. Barry Eichengreen & Peter Temin, 1997. "The Gold Standard and the Great Depression," NBER Working Papers 6060, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Maurice Obstfeld & Giovanni Peri, 1998. "Regional non-adjustment and fiscal policy," Economic Policy, CEPR, CES, MSH, vol. 13(26), pages 205-259, 04. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Lars E.O. Svensson, 1999. "Monetary policy issues for the Eurosystem," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
    Other versions:
  17. Barry Eichengreen., 1990. "One Money for Europe? Lessons from the US Currency Union," Economics Working Papers 90-132, University of California at Berkeley.
  18. Jonung, Lars & Sjöholm, Fredrik, 1998. "Should Finland and Sweden Form a Monetary Union?," Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance 224, Stockholm School of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  19. Holtfrerich, Carl-Ludwig, 1993. "Did monetary unification precede or follow political unification of Germany in the 19th century?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(2-3), pages 518-524, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Michael G. Spencer & Peter M. Garber, 1992. "The Dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: Lessons for Currency Reform," IMF Working Papers 92/66, International Monetary Fund.
  21. Wyplosz, Charles, 1997. "EMU: Why and How It Might Happen," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 3-21, Fall. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  22. Goodhart, Charles A. E., 1998. "The two concepts of money: implications for the analysis of optimal currency areas," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 407-432, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Michael J. Artis, 2002. "Reflections on the Optimal Currency Area (OCA) criteria in the light of EMU," Working Papers 69, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Rose, Andrew K, 2007. "Checking Out: Exits from Currency Unions," CEPR Discussion Papers 6254, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Patricia S. Pollard, 2003. "A look inside two central banks: the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Jan, pages 11-30. [Downloadable!]
  4. Jonung, Lars, 2004. "To be or not to be in the euro? Benefits and costs of monetary unification as perceived by voters in the Swedish euro referendum 2003," MPRA Paper 1334, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  5. M. Demertzis, 2000. "A note on fiscal federalism: a case for Europe?," WO Research Memoranda (discontinued) 614, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department. [Downloadable!]
  6. Romain Veyrune, 2005. "Le prix de la fixité : Application à l'Union monétaire des Caraïbes orientales et à la Zone franc," Mondes en développement, De Boeck Université, vol. 130(2), pages 63-76. [Downloadable!]
  7. Michael Bordo & Harold James, 2006. "One World Money, Then and Now," NBER Working Papers 12189, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. J. Ernesto L=F3pez-C=F3rdova & = =20 Chris Meissner, 2001. "Exchange-Rate Regimes and International Trade: Evidence from the=20 Classical Gold Standard Era," Labor and Demography 0012003, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? All top Economics journals are listed on RePEc.

This page was last updated on 2009-12-8.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.