Suchergebnisse

Explores how the economic policies required to meet Maastricht criteria for EMU membership pose a threat to Western European stability; suggests that growth and employment may lie in recent and prospective governmental changes of the late 1990s.

The year has just begun, yet in many parts of Europe, 1 January 2007 is being eagerly anticipated. This is the day when three of the new member states of the European Union, Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia, intend to join the monetary union. Although the European Central Bank and the European Commission supported this step up until the end of last year, more and more critical voices in these institutions are now speaking of a "premature" accession. At the centre of the criticism is the level of inflation, which is to some extent still too high and the fact that the candidate states still need to catch up economically. The debate, however, completely neglects the political signals and economic impetus which would be sent by an Eastern enlargement of the euro area. Up until now, new economic insights and economic-political developments have played an insufficient role in the evaluation of the candidate states. Estonia has long been considered by experts as a favourite for the first round of the enlargement of the euro area. Taking this country as an example, this paper shall show that the decision to be made on accession to the monetary union is neither trivial nor insignificant for the future and further development of Europe and the European integration process. (SWP-Comments / SWP)

The year has just begun, yet in many parts of Europe, 1 January 2007 is being eagerly anticipated. This is the day when three of the new member states of the European Union, Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia, intend to join the monetary union. Although the European Central Bank and the European Commission supported this step up until the end of last year, more and more critical voices in these institutions are now speaking of a 'premature' accession. At the centre of the criticism is the level of inflation, which is to some extent still too high and the fact that the candidate states still need to catch up economically. The debate, however, completely neglects the political signals and economic impetus which would be sent by an Eastern enlargement of the euro area. Up until now, new economic insights and economic-political developments have played an insufficient role in the evaluation of the candidate states. Estonia has long been considered by experts as a favourite for the first round of the enlargement of the euro area. Taking this country as an example, this paper shall show that the decision to be made on accession to the monetary union is neither trivial nor insignificant for the future and further development of Europe and the European integration process. (SWP-Comments / SWP)

The aim of this thesis is to examine the implications of structural heterogeneities in the policy framework of the euro area. The first step is to analyse the extent to which structural heterogeneities and the introduction of a financial stability objective assigned to the central bank influence the coordination of monetary and fiscal authorities as well as the economic stabilization that follows after shocks. Noteworthy is the increasing relevance of coordination with the degree of heterogeneity on the one hand and a proactivity of the central bank on the other hand, which improve / corrupts cyclical stabilization according to the type of shock after a financial stability objective has been added. Next step is to examine the fiscal reaction functions in the euro area to demonstrate the heterogeneity of government fiscal behavior on the one hand and the determinants of these fiscal policies on the other. Finally, we look at the impact of the single monetary policy on the euro area Member States and highlight a completely heterogeneous transmission of monetary policy, caused in particular by structural heterogeneities in productive specializations, functioning of financial and labor markets, just to name a few. Here, we ask about the relevance of single monetary policy in the context of heterogeneous monetary union without any mechanism of adjustment. ; Cette thèse a pour objectif d'étudier l'implication des hétérogénéités structurelles dans le cadre des politiques économiques de la zone euro. Nous étudions d'abord dans quelles mesures ces hétérogénéités et l'introduction d'un objectif de stabilité financière attribué à la banque centrale affectent la stabilisation conjoncturelle suite aux chocs et la coordination entre les autorités monétaires et budgétaires. Nous montrons la pertinence croissante de la coordination avec le degré d'hétérogénéité et la pro-activité de la banque centrale suite à l'ajout de l'objectif de stabilité financière qui améliore/dégrade la stabilisation conjoncturelle selon le type de ...

The aim of this thesis is to examine the implications of structural heterogeneities in the policy framework of the euro area. The first step is to analyse the extent to which structural heterogeneities and the introduction of a financial stability objective assigned to the central bank influence the coordination of monetary and fiscal authorities as well as the economic stabilization that follows after shocks. Noteworthy is the increasing relevance of coordination with the degree of heterogeneity on the one hand and a proactivity of the central bank on the other hand, which improve / corrupts cyclical stabilization according to the type of shock after a financial stability objective has been added. Next step is to examine the fiscal reaction functions in the euro area to demonstrate the heterogeneity of government fiscal behavior on the one hand and the determinants of these fiscal policies on the other. Finally, we look at the impact of the single monetary policy on the euro area Member States and highlight a completely heterogeneous transmission of monetary policy, caused in particular by structural heterogeneities in productive specializations, functioning of financial and labor markets, just to name a few. Here, we ask about the relevance of single monetary policy in the context of heterogeneous monetary union without any mechanism of adjustment. ; Cette thèse a pour objectif d'étudier l'implication des hétérogénéités structurelles dans le cadre des politiques économiques de la zone euro. Nous étudions d'abord dans quelles mesures ces hétérogénéités et l'introduction d'un objectif de stabilité financière attribué à la banque centrale affectent la stabilisation conjoncturelle suite aux chocs et la coordination entre les autorités monétaires et budgétaires. Nous montrons la pertinence croissante de la coordination avec le degré d'hétérogénéité et la pro-activité de la banque centrale suite à l'ajout de l'objectif de stabilité financière qui améliore/dégrade la stabilisation conjoncturelle selon le type de ...

Banking regulation is an economically powerful and politically very salient instrument of economic policy. After all, the financial crisis had derived from an over-leveraged banking system obviating the importance of banking regulation for the functioning of regulatory capitalism. Gundbert Scherf's research focuses on this nexus between integrated banking, supranational monetary policy and national banking regulation. He finds that national level differences in financial systems and related institutions explain and drive variation in regulatory financial stability policy across countries. Applying game-theoretical rigor to political economy interactions, Gundbert Scherf develops a model of time-inconsistent supervisory policy as well as international competition in regulatory standards. He shows how these patterns lead to financial instability, by analyzing the original members of the Euro Zone as well as the US and the UK in the years leading up to the financial crisis of 2007/8. Contents · Varieties of financial systems and regulatory preferences · Banking regulation in an integrating financial market · Interaction of banking supervision and monetary policy · Time consistency problems in supervisory policy Target Groups · Researchers and students in the fields of economics, political economy, and finance interested in financial systems, regulation and supervisory policy · Central bankers, regulators, and executives in banking and finance The Author Dr. Gundbert Scherf wrote his dissertation under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Henrik Enderlein, Chair of Political Economy, at the Freie Universität Berlin.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the implications of structural heterogeneities in the policy framework of the euro area. The first step is to analyse the extent to which structural heterogeneities and the introduction of a financial stability objective assigned to the central bank influence the coordination of monetary and fiscal authorities as well as the economic stabilization that follows after shocks. Noteworthy is the increasing relevance of coordination with the degree of heterogeneity on the one hand and a proactivity of the central bank on the other hand, which improve / corrupts cyclical stabilization according to the type of shock after a financial stability objective has been added. Next step is to examine the fiscal reaction functions in the euro area to demonstrate the heterogeneity of government fiscal behavior on the one hand and the determinants of these fiscal policies on the other. Finally, we look at the impact of the single monetary policy on the euro area Member States and highlight a completely heterogeneous transmission of monetary policy, caused in particular by structural heterogeneities in productive specializations, functioning of financial and labor markets, just to name a few. Here, we ask about the relevance of single monetary policy in the context of heterogeneous monetary union without any mechanism of adjustment. ; Cette thèse a pour objectif d'étudier l'implication des hétérogénéités structurelles dans le cadre des politiques économiques de la zone euro. Nous étudions d'abord dans quelles mesures ces hétérogénéités et l'introduction d'un objectif de stabilité financière attribué à la banque centrale affectent la stabilisation conjoncturelle suite aux chocs et la coordination entre les autorités monétaires et budgétaires. Nous montrons la pertinence croissante de la coordination avec le degré d'hétérogénéité et la pro-activité de la banque centrale suite à l'ajout de l'objectif de stabilité financière qui améliore/dégrade la stabilisation conjoncturelle selon le type de choc. Ensuite, nous étudions des fonctions de réaction budgétaire nationales qui démontrent l'hétérogénéité des comportements budgétaires des gouvernements et les différents déterminants des politiques budgétaires. Enfin, nous mettons en évidence l'impact hétérogène de la politique monétaire unique sur les pays membres. Ceci s'explique notamment par des caractéristiques structurelles hétérogènes dans les spécialisations productives, dans le fonctionnement des marchés financiers, marchés du travail etc. De même, nous posons la question de la pertinence d'une politique monétaire unique dans le cadre d'une union monétaire hétérogène, en l'absence de mécanisme d'ajustement.

Includes abstract. ; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 122-139). ; The post-Bretton Woods financial system and the globalisation of financial markets have pronounced the unequal distribution of financial power across nation states. The majority of member countries in the eurozone with previously little financial power have chosen monetary integration as a response to globalisation. On the other hand, countries with substantial financial power such as Germany agreed to monetary integration for the sake of a mercantilist economic agenda and broader political goals.

"Trotz des kräftigen Aufschwungs der vergangenen beiden Jahre haben die wirtschaftlichen und politischen Spannungen in der europäischen Währungsunion (EWU) zugenommen. Einige Länder, darunter Deutschland, gewinnen permanent an Wettbewerbsfähigkeit, während andere Länder zurückfallen. Diesen Problemländern drohen Jahre stagnierender Wirtschaftsleistung und steigender Arbeitslosigkeit. In Portugal hat sich der Prozess realer Konvergenz bereits umgekehrt, Spanien könnte bald folgen. Die derzeitige Hypothekenkrise in den USA dürfte diese Trends weiter verschärfen. Angesichts dieser Probleme gibt es inzwischen sogar Spekulationen über ein Auseinanderbrechen der Währungsunion oder den Ausstieg einzelner Länder, etwa Italiens. Zu den Ungleichgewichten beigetragen haben der Studie zufolge nationale Finanzpolitiken, die in vielen der Euroländer systematisch Booms angefeuert und Schwächephasen verstärkt haben. Mit Blick auf die Institutionen und Erfahrungen der USA argumentiert die Studie, dass die Einführung einer europäischen Arbeitslosenversicherung dieses Problem abmildern könnte. Der Boom in einzelnen Ländern könnte damit abgebremst werden, weil Kaufkraft abgeschöpft wird, bevor die Wirtschaft gefährlich überhitzt. Ein Abschwung könnte abgemildert werden, indem die Kaufkraft gestützt wird. Insgesamt könnte so der Entwicklung gefährlicher langfristiger Ungleichgewichte bei Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und Leistungsbilanzen entgegengewirkt werden. Dabei wird vorgeschlagen, dass ein solches System in der EWU einen Teil der bisher nationalen Systeme ersetzen könnte und damit die nationalen Regierungen von dem Zwang befreit, ausgerechnet im Abschwung Leistungen zu kürzen. Das System könnte so gestaltet werden, dass über den Konjunkturzyklus die bisherigen Nettozahlungsströme in der EU nicht verändert werden." (Autorenreferat)