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Two questions should be answered in relation to the international role of the euro: is a more important international role for the euro worth pursuing, and what measures would achieve this result, if it is worth pursuing? The most significant benefit for the euro area if the euro played an increased international role would be less dependence on the dollar and a reduced ability of the United States to pursue its political objectives, which are possibly inconsistent with European Union objectives. Historically, international functions have been shared between currencies and the international weights of currencies have evolved according to a limited number of variables. The most important of these are the economic size of the issuing country, the level of development and stability of the underlying financial market, openness to capital movements, a policy stance that encourages currency internationalisation, and political and military power. With the exception of financial stability, these factors do not vary substantially in the short run and give rise to persistent, long-term trends. Thus, in the first twenty years of its existence, the euro has consistently been the second most used international currency, while the dollar has maintained the first position it has held since the second world war. The gap between the dollar and the euro is greatest in the invoicing of commodity trade and as vehicle for foreign exchange transactions, and smallest in cross-border payments. While the ranking of the dollar and the euro has not changed, the euro's share has fluctuated, particularly in its use in international finance, in correlation with the stability of the euro financial market. This has confirmed that a necessary condition for the euro to play a greater international role is the stability of the euro-area financial system. In addition, the completion of banking union, progress on capital markets union, the issuance of a common bond, and more generally the completion of the institutional architecture of the euro area and progress on a common foreign and defence policy, would promote a wider role for the euro. The European Central Bank should also move beyond its neutral attitude towards the international use of the euro. Most of these policies would have effects well beyond the international use of the euro and, while in principle desirable, are not easy to achieve. Proposals on the international role of the euro published in December 2018 by the European Commission were the start of a journey rather than a decisive step towards a greater international role for the euro.

Over the last decades, the European wine industry has been object of increased international competition, which has implications for the dynamics of wine production. This paper examines the underlying factors of wine production in the European Union (EU) from a macroeconomic perspective. We apply an expanded Cobb-Douglas production function, which includes monetary indicators. A dynamic panel data GMM approach along with pooled OLS and fixed effect model for the period from 1999-2014 are applied to estimate the model. We find a positive impact from labour, capital and wine export and a negative impact from interest rate to wine production; however, no robust and significant impact is observed from wine import as well as from inflation and exchange rates. Our results indicate that EU wine production is influenced by monetary policy, which could be a useful instrument for policy makers promoting wine production in this region.

The aim of this paper is to examine the European Monetary System (EMS) and its Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) regarded as the forerunner to European Monetary Union (EMU). It may contribute to understanding the nature and the operation of the monetary integration of the single currency area. The paper examines the reasons why the European Monetary System was formed in 1979, whether its crisis could have been avoided in the early 1990s and how the "new" ERM worked out. The ERM was succeeded by ERM 2 from 1999 in which the euro became the anchor for the other participating currencies. The global economic and financial crisis has brought both the structural and the operational weaknesses of EMU to the surface. The future of the European monetary integration is vital for Europe. The euro crisis is often perceived to have been caused by the global crisis. The ERM did not seem to have laid the groundwork for the monetary union and the Maastricht Treaty also has some critical points determining the operation of EMU in the long run. It is essential to gauge the euro-zone from the aspect of its vulnerability and susceptibility to crises to prevent a recurrence.

European progress toward monetary union takes place within the highly institutionalized setting of the European Community (EC). This paper examines the ways in which formal institutions and decisionmaking procedures have constrained the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) process. The EC's structure has both created demands for and facilitated cross‐issue linkages, and these linkages characterize the successful bargaining on EMU. However, success also requires ratification. Domestic ratification procedures and changes in the EC's context of linkage have created challenges for the ratification of the Maastricht treaty. Ratification is also tied to concerns about democratic accountability, which arise from current legislative procedures and are the subject of ongoing institutional reform.

"This paper uses a computable general equilibrium approach to simulate two opposing views describing regional trade agreements either as building blocks for or stumbling blocks to multilateral trade liberalization. This study focuses on the free trade agreement (FTA) between the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) and the European Union (EU). Results show that although a regional trade agreement may slightly raise welfare among the members of the agreement, the cost to nonmembers can be high. In this paper we argue that multilateral liberalization and a regional free trade agreement between the EU and CEMAC are not mutually exclusive. Regional trade agreements should be complementary and consistent with a multilateral agreement, not an attempt to replace it. The regional breakdown in our design considers 14 regions, allowing for country-specific analysis for one least-developed country (Democratic Republic of Congo) and one non-least-developed country (Cameroon). Multilateral liberalization amplifies welfare gain for Cameroon. The Democratic Republic of Congo, with its weaker institutional capacity, is affected negatively. An EU-CEMAC FTA without multilateralism produces gains for both Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The gain for Cameroon is, however, moderate compared with that achieved when the EU-CEMAC FTA is accompanied with a multilateral agreement." --from authors' abstract ; Non-PR ; IFPRI1; GRP32 ; DSGD

The author examines the indirect macroeconomic roots of the global financial crisis and Eurozone debt crisis: the escalation of global trade imbalances between the US and China and regional trade imbalances in the Eurozone. He provides new insights into the sources and dynamics of power and instability in the contemporary global monetary system.

Cover -- Contents -- List of Features -- List of Abbreviations -- Preface -- About the authors -- 1 Introduction -- Introduction -- Europe and China: The Role of History, Concepts and Ideas -- Imbalances and Uneven Focus in EU-China Relations -- The Elephant in the Room: The Role of the United States in EU-China Relations -- Conclusion -- 2 The Evolution of the EU-China Relationship -- Introduction -- The Evolution of EU-China Relations -- Perspectives on the EU-China relationship: continuity and change -- Conclusion -- 3 EU Institutions and the Making of EU Foreign Policy -- Introduction -- The Role of Member States in EU Foreign Policy -- Supranational Institutions and EU External Relations -- The Nature of European Foreign Policy -- Conclusion -- 4 Chinese Institutions and Foreign Policy -- Introduction: China's Rise and Its Foreign Policy -- China's New Assertiveness: Change or No Change of Foreign Policy? -- Identity Issues: Respect, Recognition, Reciprocity -- Chinese Foreign Policy Principles and Priorities -- China's Domestic Agenda and Foreign Policy -- Chinese Foreign Policy Actors: A Glimpse Behind the Bamboo Curtain -- Chinese Foreign Policy and the EU -- Conclusion -- 5 The Political Dimension of EU-China Relations -- Introduction -- Political Dialogues -- Drivers of the Political Relationship -- Human Rights Disputes -- Other Contentious Issues in EU-China Relations -- Conclusion -- 6 The Economic Dimension of EU-China Relations -- Introduction -- Trade -- Foreign Direct Investment -- Monetary Policy and the International Financial System -- The Impact of the Eurozone Crisis on EU-China Relations -- Conclusion -- 7 The Societal Dimension of EU-China Relations -- Introduction -- Education and Research Collaboration in EU-China Relations -- The Role of Think Tanks, NGOs and Civil Society.

Статья посвящена ретроспективному анализу становления европейского Экономического и валютного союза с точки зрения учения об оптимальных валютных зонах. Объединение рассмотрено на соответствие таким критериям оптимальности, как гибкость цен и заработной платы, мобильность факторов производства, синхронизация экономических циклов, сближение фискальных систем и интеграция финансовых рынков стран-членов, а также наличие их политической воли. Определены положительные и отрицательные эффекты создания и функционирования валютного союза. Результаты анализа могут быть полезны при оценке реальности идей создания валютных союзов и введения единой валюты в других регионах.The article is devoted to the retrospective analysis of formation of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in the context of the theory of optimum currency areas. EMU is checked for conformity with some criteria of optimality: price and wage flexibility, mobility of production factors, cyclical synchronization, gradual convergence of national fiscal systems and financial markets as well as respective political will of the member countries. Positive and negative effects of the establishment of a monetary union are described. The results can be useful for evaluation of similar initiatives in other regions.

"The global financial crisis, which started in the United States in 2007, spread to Europe in 2009. It especially hit Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain, countries which have introduced the single currency, the euro. These eurozone countries no longer have monetary policy autonomy, so they do not have the option of devaluation to increase competitiveness. The crisis has shown that the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) created in 1993, and which led to the single currency in 1999, is faulty. Its built-in asymmetry, with centralised monetary policy and decentralised fiscal policy, should be expected to create problems. Part of the response to the crisis so far has been incremental moves towards fiscal and banking union, which will mean a deepening of European integration at a time when many observers believed that a certain equilibrium had been reached after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009. This book focuses on these developments as well as analysing other economic policies that affect the general economic welfare of the EU, including agriculture, trade and immigration policies. The book puts the eurozone crisis into the wider context of deepening and widening."--Publisher's website.

Cover -- CONTENTS -- Glossary -- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY -- TABLE OF MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS -- MACROFINANCIAL BACKGROUND -- A. Macrofinancial Setting -- B. Financial System -- FINANCIAL STABILITY ANALYSIS -- A. Vulnerabilities and Risks -- B. Stress Testing and Interconnectedness -- FINANCIAL SYSTEM OVERSIGHT -- A. Regulation and Supervision -- B. Macroprudential Policy -- C. AML/CFT Framework -- CRISIS PREPAREDNESS AND FINANCIAL SAFETY NETS -- A. Crisis Management -- B. Deposit Insurance -- OTHER ISSUES -- BOX -- 1. Hurricanes and Financial Stability in The Bahamas -- FIGURES -- 1. Domestic Financial Sector Structure -- 2. Evolution of Bank Capital Adequacy -- 3. Bank Profitability -- 4. Composition of Bank Assets and Liabilities -- 5. Credit Quality of Domestic Banks and Credit Unions -- 6. Maturity Profile of Bank Assets and Liabilities -- 7. Offshore Financial Sector Structure -- 8. Offshore Banking Sector Composition of Assets and Liabilities -- 9. Bank Claims and Liabilities vis-à-vis Nonresidents -- TABLES -- 1. Selected Economic Indicators -- 2. Structure of the Financial System -- 3. Financial Soundness Indicators -- 4. FSAP Risk Assessment Matrix -- APPENDICES -- I. Banking Sector Stress Testing Matrix (STeM) -- II. Stress Test Tables -- III. Offshore Financial Sector -- IV. The Case of Bank of The Bahamas -- V. Financial Inclusion -- VI. Implementation of 2013 FSAP Recommendations.