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The academic and political discussion about which countries met the conditions for joining the Economic and Monetary Union was decisively influenced by the Frankel and Rose (European Economic Review, Vol. 41, Nos 3–5, (1997) pp. 753–760) hypothesis concerning endogenous optimum currency areas (OCA) properties. The answer to their question 'Is EMU more justifiable ex post than ex ante?' was a definite yes in their ex ante analysis. Our ex post examination of the euro's first decade suggests however that the hypothesis does not hold for some countries. This paper utilizes panel data estimation techniques to compute OCA indices that help assess the OCA endogeneity hypothesis and signal current external and fiscal imbalances.

The academic and political discussion about which countries met the conditions for joining EMU was decisively influenced by the Frankel and Rose (1997) hypothesis concerning endogenous OCA properties. The answer to their question "Is EMU more justifiable ex post than ex ante?" was a definite yes in their ex ante analysis. Our ex post examination of the euro's first decade suggests however that the hypothesis does not hold for some countries. This paper utilizes panel data estimation techniques to compute OCA indices that help assess the OCA endogeneity hypothesis and signal current external and fiscal imbalances.

Plans for an early adoption of the euro by some new EU members are hanged up on political will and a set of nominal criteria. The focus, however, should be on the available adjustment mechanisms supporting a permanently fixed exchange rate. Efficient financial markets could provide stabilisation (following a shock), substituting the weakened array of traditional policy instruments. In order to assess the availability of such alternative, this paper presents a particular empirical analysis of efficiency in three recently acceded countries' foreign exchange markets. The results suggest that some caution is needed in the transition towards full monetary integration, as the level of financial efficiency already attained may be insufficient to ensure an adequate source of stabilisation in economies affected by specific disturbances.

Este texto está dividido em dois andamentos. No primeiro andamento, procura-se desconstruir adicotomia tão redutora entre formal e informal na Educação em geral e na Educação Social, em particular. Entendemos que a Pedagogia Social, mais interessada na (trans)formação pessoal e social, e a Antropologia da Educação, mais no estudo dos processos educativos, se interpenetram derrubando muros como o formal/não formal/informal e ainda o escolar e não escolar, salientando o processo educativo como um processo complexo e global que decorre entre o nascimento e a morte. Tanto uma como outra, a Pedagogia Social e a Antropologia da Educação, preferem atualmente, optar pelo uso da dimensão não escolar, por contraponto à lógica da escola, ao invés de não formal. O segundo andamento do texto centra-se na Pedagogia Social como ciência matriz da Educação Social (CARIDE,2005) e nas competências do educador social que se autonomiza relativamente ao trabalho social pelo seu caráter pedagógico que determina os seus modelos de atuação, quer na escola, quer para além da escola, quer em espaços e tempos mais formais, quer menos formais.