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The Euro and European Economic Conditions

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  • Martin S. Feldstein

Abstract

The creation of the euro should now be recognized as an experiment that has led to the sovereign debt crisis in several countries, the fragile condition of major European banks, the high levels of unemployment, and the large trade deficits that now exist in most Eurozone countries. Although the European Central Bank managed the euro in a way that achieved a low rate of inflation, other countries both in Europe and elsewhere have also had a decade of low inflation without incurring the costs of a monetary union. The emergence of these problems just a dozen years after the start of the euro in 1999 was not an accident or the result of bureaucratic mismanagement but the inevitable consequence of imposing a single currency on a very heterogeneous group of countries, a heterogeneity that includes not only economic structures but also fiscal traditions and social attitudes. This paper reviews (1) the reasons for these economic problems, (2) the political origins of the European Monetary Union, (3) the current attempts to solve the sovereign debt problem, (4) the long-term problem of inter-country differences of productivity growth and competitiveness, (5) the special problems of Greece and Italy, (6) and the pros and cons of a Greek departure from the Eurozone.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin S. Feldstein, 2011. "The Euro and European Economic Conditions," NBER Working Papers 17617, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17617
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    1. Paolo Savona
      by Alberto Bagnai in Goofynomics on 2015-01-04 02:54:00

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    Cited by:

    1. Jonathan Payne & Lawrence Uren, 2014. "Economic Policy and the Great Depression in a Small Open Economy," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(2-3), pages 347-370, March.
    2. Daniele Schiliro, 2014. "Changes in Eurozone Governance after the Crisis and the Issue of Growth," International Journal of Social Science Studies, Redfame publishing, vol. 2(2), pages 110-119, April.
    3. Daniele SCHILIR, 2013. "Hans Werner Sinn and Timo Wollmershaeuser s Target Loans Current Account Balances and Capital Flows The ECB s Rescue Faciliy A Comment," Journal of Advanced Research in Law and Economics, ASERS Publishing, vol. 4(1), pages 66-69.
    4. Christian Keuschnigg, 2012. "Should Europe Become a Fiscal Union?," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 13(01), pages 35-43, April.
    5. Larry D. Wall, 2012. "Central banking for financial stability Some lessons from the recent instability in the US and euro area," Public Policy Review, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance Japan, vol. 8(3), pages 247-280, August.
    6. Martin Watts & Timothy Sharpe & James Juniper, 2014. "Reformation or exodus: Assessing the future of the Euro," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 25(3), pages 465-483, September.
    7. Kleczka, Mitja, 2015. "Monetary Policy, Fiscal Policy, and Secular Stagnation at the Zero Lower Bound. A View on the Eurozone," MPRA Paper 67228, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Alberto Bagnai, 2014. "Un external compact per rilanciare l'Europa," a/ Working Papers Series 1401, Italian Association for the Study of Economic Asymmetries, Rome (Italy).
    9. Christian Keuschnigg, 2012. "Should Europe Become a Fiscal Union?," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 13(1), pages 35-43, April.
    10. Radu SIMANDAN, 2020. "A gentle sceptic: Martin Feldstein and the euro," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 11, pages 378-395, December.
    11. Szakolczai, György, 2020. "Az euró reformja - a keynesi szellemű megoldás [Reform of the euro: the Keynesian solution]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(9), pages 911-929.
    12. Streeck, Wolfgang, 2015. "The rise of the European consolidation state," MPIfG Discussion Paper 15/1, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    13. Nikolaos Antonakakis & Ioannis Chatziantoniou & David Gabauer, 2021. "The impact of Euro through time: Exchange rate dynamics under different regimes," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(1), pages 1375-1408, January.
    14. Christian Keuschnigg & Klaus Weyerstrass, 2015. "Macroeconomic Adjustment and Institutional Reforms in the Euro Area," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 21(3), pages 275-285, August.
    15. Brigitte Granville, 2013. "The Current Eurozone – an impediment to critical French reform," Working Papers 42, Queen Mary, University of London, School of Business and Management, Centre for Globalisation Research.
    16. Marko Ðogo & Dragan Gligoriæ & Miloš Grujiæ & Boško Mekinjiæ, 2023. "The impossible trinity of developing countries – the Greek example," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 41(1), pages 271-297.
    17. Keuschnigg, Christian, 2012. "Welche Finanz- und Wirtschaftspolitik braucht Europa?," Economics Working Paper Series 1201, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    18. Streeck, Wolfgang & Elsässer, Lea, 2014. "Monetary disunion: The domestic politics of Euroland," MPIfG Discussion Paper 14/17, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    19. Ziółkowski Michał, 2014. "Geographic Labor Mobility as an Element of Adjustment Process in the Eurozone Countries and the USA States," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 41(1), pages 23-44, March.
    20. Wall, Larry D., 2012. "Central Banking for Financial Stability: Some Lessons from the Recent Instability in the United States and Euro Area," ADBI Working Papers 379, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    21. Ottonello, Pablo, 2021. "Optimal exchange-rate policy under collateral constraints and wage rigidity," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    22. Schilirò, Daniele, 2012. "The crisis of euro’s governance: institutional aspects and policy issues," MPRA Paper 40861, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    23. Afflatet, Nicolas, 2014. "European Monetary Policy in the Heterogeneous Currency Area and the Open Question of Convergence," EconStor Preprints 93382, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.

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    JEL classification:

    • E0 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General

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