Central Banks in the Age of the Euro: Europeanization, Convergence, and Power

Both studies of political power and Europeanization studies have tended to neglect central banks. As the age of the euro reaches its 10th anniversary, it is timely to reflect on what it means for central banks, which have been at the forefront of the establishment of Economic and Monetary Union in the European Union. Central banks have been caught up in a major historic political project. What does it mean for them? What does the age of the euro tell us about the power of central banks, their Europeanization and whether they are coming to resemble each other more closely? This book brings together a range of recognized academic specialists to examine the main political aspects of this question. How, and in what ways, has the euro Europeanized central banks (members and non-members of the Euro Area)? What have been its effects on the power of central banks and their use of power? Has the euro generated convergence or divergence in central banking? The book offers the first, in-depth and systematic political analysis of central banks in the first decade of the euro. It places the euro in its global and European contexts, including the US Fed and the Australasian central banks, patterns of differentiated integration in European central banking, and the European Central Bank. It offers a set of case studies of its effects on a representative sample of EU central banks (euro 'insiders' and 'outsiders') and looks at four main thematic areas (monetary policy, financial market supervision, accountability and transparency, and research). The book contributes to Europeanization studies, comparative political economy, and studies of Economic and Monetary Union. It will be of major interest to students of the European Union and European integration, comparative European politics, and area and 'country' studies. More generally, it will interest all those interested in central banking and their pivotal and problematic position between politics and markets. Contributors to this volume - Iain Begg is a Professorial Fellow in the European Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Kenneth Dyson is Research Professor in European Politics at Cardiff University, Wales. Chris Eichbaum is Senior Lecturer in Public Policy in the School of Government at Victoria University of Wellington New Zealand. Rachel A. Epstein is Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Charles Goodhart, CBE, FBA is a member of the Financial Markets Group at the London School of Economics. Bela Greskovits is Professor of International Relations and European Studies at the Central European University, Budapest. David Howarth is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Edinburgh. Nicolas Jabko is a research director at the Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI) of SciencesPo in Paris. Juliet Johnson is Associate Professor of Political Science at McGill University. Huw Macartney is an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow at Nottingham University. Ivo Maes is a Deputy Head of the Research Department of the National Bank of Belgium and holds the Robert Triffin Chair at the Institut d'etudes europeennes of the Universite Catholique de Louvain. Martin Marcussen is Associate Professor of Politics at the University of Copenhagen. Michael Moran is WJM Mackenzie Professor of Government at Manchester University and a Fellow of the British Academy. George Pagoulatos is Associate Professor of Politics at the Department of International and European Economic Studies, Athens University of Economics and Business, and Visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges. Lucia Quaglia is Senior Lecturer in Politics and Contemporary European Studies at Sussex University. Gaby Umbach is research associate at the Jean-Monnet Chair for Political Science, University of Cologne. Amy Verdun is Professor of Political Science, Jean Monnet Chair and Director of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at the University of Victoria, Canada. Wolfgang Wessels holds the Jean Monnet Chair for Political Science at the University of Cologne. John T. Woolley is Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara.