International Currency Competition and the Future Role of the Single European Currency:Final Report of the Working Group: European Monetary Union - International Monetary System


Book Description

This report--prepared For The ECU Institute by a group of eight economists from universities, private financial institutions, central banks and international institutions, all participating in a strictly private capacity--is an effort to Understand The factors that determine the international use of currencies, The present use of the world's major currencies, And The probable implications For The International Monetary System of the setting up in Europe of an Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) having a single currency (the ECU). The book shows that the EMU will greatly modify the design of the International Monetary System. By encouraging the development of a second key international currency that may challenge the dollar, it may transform the current system to a bipolar regime. By introducing a new, big player into the system, it may also increase the interest of the main participants in international coordination.




Currency Competition and Foreign Exchange Markets


Book Description

Currency Competition and Foreign Exchange Markets by Philipp Hartmann of the European Central Bank is a major theoretical and empirical study of international currencies, which focuses on the role which the Euro will play in the international monetary and financial system along with the US dollar and the Japanese yen. In contrast to much of the existing literature which approaches the subject from a macroeconomic perspective, Philipp Hartmann develops a theoretical model which uses game theory, time series and panel econometrics, and links financial markets analysis with transaction cost economics. The results of Currency Competition and Foreign Exchange Markets are presented with reference to political, historical and institutional considerations, and provide accessible answers to policy-makers, business people and scholars worldwide. The sections on Spread Estimation and Multiple Vehicles with Inter-Dealer Price and Entry Competition will be of particular use for finance professionals.




How Global Currencies Work


Book Description

A powerful new understanding of global currency trends, including the rise of the Chinese yuan At first glance, the history of the modern global economy seems to support the long-held view that the currency of the world’s leading power invariably dominates international trade and finance. But in How Global Currencies Work, three noted economists overturn this conventional wisdom. Offering a new history of global finance over the past two centuries and marshaling extensive new data to test current theories of how global currencies work, the authors show that several national monies can share international currency status—and that their importance can change rapidly. They demonstrate how changes in technology and international trade and finance have reshaped the landscape of international currencies so that several international financial standards can coexist. In fact, they show that multiple international and reserve currencies have coexisted in the past—upending the traditional view of the British pound’s dominance before 1945 and the U.S. dollar’s postwar dominance. Looking forward, the book tackles the implications of this new framework for major questions facing the future of the international monetary system, including how increased currency competition might affect global financial stability.




The Future of Global Currency


Book Description

Can the euro challenge the supremacy of the U.S. dollar as a global currency? From the time Europe’s joint money was born, many have predicted that it would soon achieve parity with the dollar or possibly even surpass it. In reality, however, the euro has remained firmly planted in the dollar’s shadow. The essays collected in this volume explain why. Because of America’s external deficits and looming foreign debt, the dollar can never be as dominant as it once was. But Europe’s money is unable to mount an effective challenge. The euro suffers from a number of critical structural deficiencies, including an anti-growth bias that is built into the institutions of the monetary union and an ambiguous governance structure that sows doubts among prospective users. As recent events have demonstrated, members of the euro zone remain vulnerable to financial crisis. Moreover, lacking a single voice, the bloc continues to punch below its weight in monetary diplomacy. The world seems headed toward a leaderless monetary order, with several currencies in contention but none clearly dominant. This collection distils the views of one of the world’s leading scholars in global currency, and will be of considerable interest to students and scholars of international finance and international political economy.




The Emergence of the Euro as an International Currency


Book Description

The European Union will enter Stage Three of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 1999. The development of euro financial markets and thickness externalities in the use of the euro as a means of payment will be the major factors determining the importance of the euro as an international currency. As euro securities markets become deeper and more liquid and transactions costs fall, euro assets will become more attractive, and the use of the euro as a vehicle currency will expand; the two effects interact, as we demonstrate. We use a three-region world model as a framework for alternative steady-state scenarios. With forex and securities market data, we assess the plausibility of those scenarios and the implications for economic efficiency (welfare). We find that the euro may take on some of the current roles of the dollar. The welfare analysis reveals potential quantitatively significant benefits for the euro area, at the cost of the US and (to a lesser degree) Japan.




NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2002


Book Description

Current issues in macroeconomics.




One Market, One Money


Book Description

The European Community is negotiating a new treaty to establish the constitutional foundations of an economic and monetary union in the course of the 1990s. This study provides the only comprehensive guide to the economic implications of economic and monetary union. The work of an economist inside the Commission of the European Community, it reflects the considerations influencing the design of the union. The study creates a unique bridge between the insights of modern economic analysis and the work of the policy makers preparing for economic and monetary union.







The Path to European Economic and Monetary Union


Book Description

Sir Alan Walters ex-chief economic advisor to PM Margaret Thatcher Whether it succeeds or fails, Europe is everyone's concern. The idea of a united Europe has been entertained, even partially at least, achieved, inter alia, CharlemagI!e, Napoleon, Hitler, and in our da)' by Spaak, Monet and Chancellor Kohl: the first three by military conquest, the last three by "negotiation" and the creation of integrating institutional arrangements. The motives varied from the twisted paranoia of the Nazis to the idealism of SpaaklMonet/Kohl in avoiding conflicts and wars. Under the protection of NATO the European Coal and Steel Community soon was transformed into the EEC by the 1957 Treaty of Rome. The massive reduction of trade barriers, particularly between France and Germany, was rewarded by vigorous growth over the next 15 years. Even as late as 1972, when Britain acceeded to the Treaty of Rome, the EEC was thought to be lar~ely a customs union: in de Gaulle eyes the EEC was simply a collection of sovereISJ:l states who cooperated primarily on trade. Each state however enjoyed a veto; deCIsions had to be unanimous.




Choice in Currency


Book Description