Suchergebnisse

The creation of the EMU and the introduction of the Euro is a historic event for the EU countries. The debates on the desirability of the EMU provoked a vast economic literature dealing with the theory of the optimum currency area, costs and benefits of the EMU, symmetric versus asymmetric shocks, alternative mechanisms of adjustment in a monetary union and so forth. Until recently, for the Central European candidate countries for a full membership in the EU, these issues seemed to be too far away, as they concentrated on devising their own monetary and exchange rate systems suitable for their transition period. The challenges of the EMU for the Central European countries have scarcely been dealt with in both Western and Eastern economic literature. Inclusion of Central European Countries in the European Monetary Union aims to fill this gap, by focusing on the most direct issue of relevance for the Central European countries with respect to the EMU - why, how and when these countries are expected to join the EMU. The papers included in this volume study the relationship between the EU accession process of the Central European candidate countries and their involvement in the process of European monetary integration. The book focuses on two main issues. First, are these countries - now or possibly later - a part of the European optimum currency area so that they should belong to the Euro area in the near future? Second, if so, how and when should they undertake necessary adjustments in their monetary and exchange rate policies and join the ERM 2 and the EMU?

The purpose of this study is to examine the functioning of the monetary system of the West African Monetary Union. The system has been reviewed from two angles: the monetary policies of the BCEAO, and the monetary and financial arrangement the member countries of the Union have made with France

European Monetary Union is stilla a viable target, but disarray after Maastricht means it will be more difficult to achieve.

Since 1958, international economists have been greatly
concerned with the problem of international monetary reform. Research
and writing on this problem has taken one or other of two broad forms.
Those economists most concerned with policy have concerned themselves
with emphasizing the need for inter¬national monetary reform and
propounding workable (negotiable) schemes for achieving it.
International monetary theorists, on the other hand, have been concerned
with the theoretical policy problems of achieving and maintaining
balance-of-payments equilibrium in the present internaticnal monetary
system of fixed exchange rates. They have also become concerned with the
problems of the system as a monetary system. This paper belongs to the
latter category. It seeks to outline the main propositions of the
analysis of international economic policy and policy problems that have
been developed by economists working in this field in recent years. Part
I is concerned with the economic policy problems of maintaining both
full employ¬ment and balance-of-payments equilibrium, first for a single
country on a fixed exchange rate, then for two or more countries linked
in a multi-country inter¬national monetary system. Part II is concerned
with certain features of the present international monetary system,
viewed as a monetary system. The analysis of Part I is Keynesian, that
of Part II classical, in approach. Both parts draw heavily on papers
presented at the University of Chicago Conference on Inter¬national
Monetary Problems organized by R. A. Mundell, held at Chicago in
September 1966.

The true significance of Barre as an architect of European Economic and Monetary Union should be seen in terms of his economic convictions. They led him - far earlier than most of his compatriots, and against many detractors within French political, policy making and academic circles — to support the three main macro-economic stepping stones to EMU: macro-economic convergence based on low inflation; exchange-rate targeting (through an external exchange-rate regime) to reinforce domestic efforts to bring down inflation; and capital liberalization. As European Commissioner, and then as French prime minister from 1976 to 1981 with a concurrent stint as Finance Minister from 1976-1978, Barre maintained his consistent support for these three policy goals, although without the telos of a single currency by way of official justification. Prior to the Delors Report, Barre never publicly stated his support for the creation of a single European currency emitted by a European central bank. Barre repeatedly claimed that he was a European by conviction, but his Europeanism remained one in which Member States retained control. Barre was no fan of supra-nationalism. Domestic economic concerns and the competitiveness of the French economy were always his priorities.

"In this article the author addresses the question of the ontology of power and rule-setting in the international monetary system. By distinguishing between two dimensions of monetary power - autonomy and influence - he offers an innovative approach towards power in the international monetary system. Within this context he examines and analyses different developments, outlining a diffusion of power among states as well as between states and non-state actors rather in the dimension of autonomy than in the dimension of influence. The author introduces the concept of leaderless diffusion, meaning that leadership in the system has been more scattered than relocated. He argues that a power shift has taken place from few very powerful states towards a growing number of autonomous actors, especially when it comes to rule-setting abilities within the monetary system. Furthermore, he outlines that on the level of governance, a distinction should be made between the individual state and the global system and thus offers an elaborated approach towards understanding monetary and economic power in the 21st century." (author's abstract)

This presentation was presented by Professor Briguglio, who was invited to conduct a public seminar at the University Putra of Malaysia (UPM) at Kuala Lumpur on the Euro Crisis. ; This presentation focuses on the EU History and Institutions, the European Monetary Union, the Stability and Growth Pact and the Euro Crisis. ; N/A