IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jmacro/v42y2014icp141-155.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

One money, one cycle? The EMU experience

Author

Listed:
  • Gächter, Martin
  • Riedl, Aleksandra

Abstract

We examine whether the introduction of the euro had a significant impact on the synchronization of business cycles among members of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Empirical evidence on this relationship is rare so far and suffers from methodical weaknesses, such as the absence of time variability, which is crucial for addressing this issue. Using a synchronization index that is constructed on a year-by-year basis (1993–2011), we uncover a strong and robust empirical finding: the adoption of the euro has significantly increased the correlation of member countries’ business cycles above and beyond the effect of higher trade integration. Thus, our results substantially strengthen the conclusion by Frankel and Rose (1998), i.e. a country is more likely to satisfy the criteria for entry into a currency union ex post rather than ex ante. Remarkably, however, this reasoning is even verified when controlling for the effect of increased trade linkages implied by entering a currency union.

Suggested Citation

  • Gächter, Martin & Riedl, Aleksandra, 2014. "One money, one cycle? The EMU experience," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 141-155.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jmacro:v:42:y:2014:i:c:p:141-155
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jmacro.2014.07.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0164070414000974
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Enders, Zeno & Jung, Philip & Müller, Gernot J., 2013. "Has the Euro changed the business cycle?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 189-211.
    2. Glick, Reuven & Rose, Andrew K., 2002. "Does a currency union affect trade? The time-series evidence," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(6), pages 1125-1151, June.
    3. Frankel, Jeffrey A & Rose, Andrew K, 1998. "The Endogeneity of the Optimum Currency Area Criteria," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(449), pages 1009-1025, July.
    4. Sybille Lehwald, 2013. "Has the Euro changed business cycle synchronization? Evidence from the core and the periphery," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 40(4), pages 655-684, November.
    5. Jakob de Haan & Robert Inklaar & Richard Jong-A-Pin, 2008. "Will Business Cycles In The Euro Area Converge? A Critical Survey Of Empirical Research," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(2), pages 234-273, April.
    6. Calderon, Cesar & Chong, Alberto & Stein, Ernesto, 2007. "Trade intensity and business cycle synchronization: Are developing countries any different?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 2-21, March.
    7. Crespo-Cuaresma, Jesús & Fernández-Amador, Octavio, 2013. "Business cycle convergence in EMU: A second look at the second moment," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 239-259.
    8. Marianne Baxter & Robert G. King, 1999. "Measuring Business Cycles: Approximate Band-Pass Filters For Economic Time Series," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(4), pages 575-593, November.
    9. Rose, Andrew K & Engel, Charles, 2002. "Currency Unions and International Integration," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 34(4), pages 1067-1089, November.
    10. Artis, Michael J & Zhang, W, 1997. "International Business Cycles and the ERM: Is There a European Business Cycle?," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 2(1), pages 1-16, January.
    11. Masson,Paul R. & Taylor,Mark P. (ed.), 1993. "Policy Issues in the Operation of Currency Unions," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521434553.
    12. Michael Artis & Toshihiro Okubo, 2011. "Does International Trade Really Lead To Business Cycle Synchronization?—A Panel Data Approach," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 79(2), pages 318-332, March.
    13. David Roodman, 2009. "How to do xtabond2: An introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 9(1), pages 86-136, March.
    14. Baxter, Marianne & Kouparitsas, Michael A., 2005. "Determinants of business cycle comovement: a robust analysis," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 113-157, January.
    15. Canova, Fabio & Ciccarelli, Matteo & Ortega, Eva, 2012. "Do institutional changes affect business cycles? Evidence from Europe," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 1520-1533.
    16. Pedro Cerqueira, 2013. "A closer look at the world business cycle synchronization," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 349-363, September.
    17. Styliani Christodoulopoulou, 2014. "The effect of currency unions on business cycle correlations: the EMU case," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 41(2), pages 177-222, May.
    18. Zsolt Darvas & Andrew K. Rose & Gyorgy Szapary, 2005. "Fiscal Divergence and Business Cycle Synchronization: Irresponsibility is Idiosyncratic," NBER Chapters, in: NBER International Seminar on Macroeconomics 2005, pages 261-298, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Jeffrey Frankel, 2010. "The Estimated Trade Effects of the Euro: Why Are They Below Those from Historical Monetary Unions among Smaller Countries?," NBER Chapters, in: Europe and the Euro, pages 169-212, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Andrew Abbott & Joshy Easaw & Tao Xing, 2008. "Trade Integration and Business Cycle Convergence: Is the Relation Robust across Time and Space?," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 110(2), pages 403-417, June.
    21. Hodrick, Robert J & Prescott, Edward C, 1997. "Postwar U.S. Business Cycles: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 29(1), pages 1-16, February.
    22. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    23. Domenico Giannone & Michele Lenza & Lucrezia Reichlin, 2010. "Business Cycles in the Euro Area," NBER Chapters,in: Europe and the Euro, pages 141-167 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. Lane, Philip R. & Milesi-Ferretti, Gian Maria, 2007. "The external wealth of nations mark II: Revised and extended estimates of foreign assets and liabilities, 1970-2004," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 223-250, November.
    25. Cerqueira, Pedro André & Martins, Rodrigo, 2009. "Measuring the determinants of business cycle synchronization using a panel approach," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 102(2), pages 106-108, February.
    26. Gonçalves, Carlos Eduardo S. & Rodrigues, Mauro & Soares, Tiago, 2009. "Correlation of business cycles in the euro zone," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 102(1), pages 56-58, January.
    27. Inklaar, Robert & Jong-A-Pin, Richard & de Haan, Jakob, 2008. "Trade and business cycle synchronization in OECD countries--A re-examination," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(4), pages 646-666, May.
    28. Crespo-Cuaresma, Jesús & Fernández-Amador, Octavio, 2013. "Business cycle convergence in EMU: A first look at the second moment," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 265-284.
    29. D. Furceri & G. Karras, 2008. "Business-cycle synchronization in the EMU," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(12), pages 1491-1501.
    30. Frankel, Jeffrey A. & Rose, Andrew K., 1997. "Is EMU more justifiable ex post than ex ante?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(3-5), pages 753-760, April.
    31. Morten O. Ravn & Harald Uhlig, 2002. "On adjusting the Hodrick-Prescott filter for the frequency of observations," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(2), pages 371-375.
    32. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    33. Massmann, Michael & Mitchell, James, 2003. "Reconsidering the evidence: Are Eurozone business cycles converging," ZEI Working Papers B 05-2003, University of Bonn, ZEI - Center for European Integration Studies.
    34. Inklaar, Robert & Jong-A-Pin, Richard & de Haan, Jakob, 2008. "Trade and business cycle synchronization in OECD countries--A re-examination," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(4), pages 646-666, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mark Mink & Jan Jacobs & Jakob de Haan & Jakob de Haan, 2016. "Euro Area Imbalances," CESifo Working Paper Series 6291, CESifo Group Munich.
    2. repec:bla:jcmkts:v:55:y:2017:i:6:p:1322-1342 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Cinzia Alcidi & Mathias Dolls & Clemens Fuest & Carla Krolage & Florian Neumeier, 2017. "The Nature of Shocks in the Eurozone and Their Absorption Channels," EconPol Policy Reports 3, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    4. repec:eee:jpolmo:v:40:y:2018:i:2:p:284-304 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Bierbaumer-Polly, Jürgen & Huber, Peter & Huber, Petr, 2015. "The Impact of EU-Accession on Regional Business Cycle Synchronization and Sector Specialization," Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 113154, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    6. repec:eee:finana:v:61:y:2019:i:c:p:274-283 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Campos, Nauro F. & Jarko, Fidrmuc & Iikka, Korhonen, 2017. "Business cycle synchronisation in a currency union : Taking stock of the evidence," Research Discussion Papers 28/2017, Bank of Finland.
    8. Ansgar Belke & Clemens Domnick & Daniel Gros, 2017. "Business Cycle Synchronization in the EMU: Core vs. Periphery," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 28(5), pages 863-892, November.
    9. repec:eee:jimfin:v:77:y:2017:i:c:p:77-98 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. repec:cnb:ocpubv:as17 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Martin Gächter & Alexander Gruber & Aleksandra Riedl, 2017. "Wage Divergence, Business Cycle Co-Movement and the Currency Union Effect," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(6), pages 1322-1342, November.
    12. repec:eee:jmacro:v:55:y:2018:i:c:p:12-27 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Jürgen Bierbaumer-Polly & Peter Huber & Petr Rozmahel, 2016. "Regional Business-Cycle Synchronization, Sector Specialization and EU Accession," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 544-568, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Business cycles; EMU; Endogeneity; Optimum currency areas;

    JEL classification:

    • E02 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Institutions and the Macroeconomy
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • F33 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Monetary Arrangements and Institutions

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jmacro:v:42:y:2014:i:c:p:141-155. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Dana Niculescu). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622617 .

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.