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What if the euro had never been launched? A counterfactual analysis of the macroeconomic impact of euro membership

Author

Listed:
  • Emmanuel Dubois

    (PESOR, University of Paris XI)

  • Jerome Hericourt

    (EQUIPPE, University of Lille and CES, University of Paris 1)

  • Valerie Mignon

    (EconomiX-CNRS, University of Paris Ouest and CEPII)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to gauge quantitatively the macroeconomic impact of EMU membership. Building on the Global VAR framework designed by Pesaran et al. (2004), we want to shed light on the following important questions: What if the euro had never been launched? How would national outputs and inflation rates have evolved? We show that monetary unification promoted lower interest rates and higher output in most euro area (EA) countries, relatively to a situation where national monetary policies would have followed a German-type one. If national monetary policies had adopted British monetary preferences after September 1992 however, this would have led to higher interest rates, depreciations of national exchange rates and higher output in most EA countries, especially over the 1992-1998 period. This is particularly true for the three biggest countries of the EA (France, Germany and Italy). Besides, the single currency regime probably did not have a massive impact on price developments.

Suggested Citation

  • Emmanuel Dubois & Jerome Hericourt & Valerie Mignon, 2009. "What if the euro had never been launched? A counterfactual analysis of the macroeconomic impact of euro membership," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 29(3), pages 2241-2255.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-09-00317
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Alexander Chudik & M. Hashem Pesaran, 2016. "Theory And Practice Of Gvar Modelling," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 165-197, February.
    2. Marçal, Emerson Fernandes & Cunha, Ronan & Merlin, Giovanni Tondin & Simões, Oscar, 2017. "The aftermath of 2008 turmoil on Brazilian economy: Tsunami or “Marolinha”?," Textos para discussão 459, FGV EESP - Escola de Economia de São Paulo, Fundação Getulio Vargas (Brazil).
    3. Ludovic Gauvin & Cyril C. Rebillard, 2018. "Towards recoupling? Assessing the global impact of a Chinese hard landing through trade and commodity price channels," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(12), pages 3379-3415, December.
    4. Hamza Bennani, 2013. "Does the ECB consider the persistence of inflation differentials?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 33(3), pages 2129-2139.
    5. Luciano Greco & Francesco Jacopo Pintus & Davide Raggi, 2023. "When Fiscal Discipline meets Macroeconomic Stability: the Euro-stability Bond," "Marco Fanno" Working Papers 0300, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche "Marco Fanno".
    6. Xue, Huidan & Li, Chenguang & Wang, Liming, 2018. "The Global Vector Error Correction Model application on the dynamics and drivers of the World Butter Export Prices: Evidence from the U.S., the EU, and New Zealand," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 273971, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Hamza Bennani, 2012. "National influences inside the ECB: an assessment from central bankers' statements," Working Papers hal-00992646, HAL.
    8. Puzzello, Laura & Gomis-Porqueras, Pedro, 2018. "Winners and losers from the €uro," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 129-152.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Euro; counterfactual analysis; global VAR.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C3 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables
    • E4 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates

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