Integrating Europe


Book Description

Bringing the eastern European economies in transition (defined more precisely in the Introduction) under the economic, political, and secu rity umbrella of the European Union (ED) has been an ambition of many of these countries from the very start of the so-called annus mirabilis in 1989. The road to gratification of this aspiration since then has been rather bumpy, however one wants to look at recent events. Indeed, since 1989 the relationship between the EU and the economies in transition has been ebbing and flowing with the evolution of two main strands of policy stances in the EU. One has been deep skepticism about bringing these countries into the Union at all in any foreseeable future. This in spite of the fact that, after long hesitation, in mid 1993 the EU Member States committed themselves eventually to explore accession with selected transition economies, as well as Cyprus and Malta. The other has been their evolving attitude toward their own integration endeavors. Hence the dilemmas, in the EU's parlance, of the "deepening versus widening" conundrum. That indeed constitutes the paramount issue addressed in the present investigation.




Economics and Politics of Transition


Book Description

Highlighting recent revolutionary changes, this volume deals with the ongoing transformation from central planning towards more efficient economic structures in Eastern and Central Europe and the former USSR. Political democracy and the creation of market economies have now become realistic aims but the process of reform is only just beginning and is likely to take many years. The papers and discussions deal with systematic changes, deregulation, abolition of price controls and macroeconomic fiscal and monetary policies needed to stabilise the economics and to implement appropriate structural changes.




Economic Dynamics in Transitional Economies


Book Description

Learn more about the transitional economies of Central and Eastern Europe! This book examines the economic dynamics of Central and Eastern European post-Communist countries. It illuminates the paths these countries are taking toward restructuring their markets, increasing international trade, and bettering their connections with the European Union and other countries. Beginning with a comparative analysis of the three “P-governments”—Pigouvian, Partizan, and Paternalistic—and continuing with a discussion of the interrelated political and economic difficulties of transition, author Bruno Sergi proposes a surprising solution. Inspired by the Bruxelles consensus, he proposes that the European Commission should become a fourth “P-government,” replacing the role formerly played by the Washington consensus in the restructuring of post-Communist economies. Economic Dynamics in Transitional Economies also explores: regional comparative macroeconomics the aftereffects of the Washington Consensus integration of Eastern and Western European economies interrelations between national and regional monetary activity political and economic policy reform involvement of European Union member countries We are living in historic times, and Economic Dynamics in Transitional Economies will be a welcome guide to the rough roads ahead. This thorough assessment of current political and economic realities will stimulate debate about new European paradigms, the role of the European Union, and the difficulties of post-Communist transition. These issues promise to be vital to the region’s success in the new century.




European Monetary Union


Book Description

A detailed analysis of the economic effects of the changeover to a unified European currency and the pressures caused by a dual-currency system over the transition period to the Euro. Subjects discussed include: * fiscal transfer payments: the implications of the US structure for the EMU * consequences of parallel currency 1999-2002 * feasibility of a single currency without the exchange rate mechanism * the relationship between the UK and Europe * accounts of moves towards monetary union in Austria, Portugal and Finland.







Making the European Monetary Union


Book Description

Europe’s financial crisis cannot be blamed on the Euro, Harold James contends in this probing exploration of the whys, whens, whos, and what-ifs of European monetary union. The current crisis goes deeper, to a series of problems that were debated but not resolved at the time of the Euro’s invention. Since the 1960s, Europeans had been looking for a way to address two conundrums simultaneously: the dollar’s privileged position in the international monetary system, and Germany’s persistent current account surpluses in Europe. The Euro was created under a politically independent central bank to meet the primary goal of price stability. But while the monetary side of union was clearly conceived, other prerequisites of stability were beyond the reach of technocratic central bankers. Issues such as fiscal rules and Europe-wide banking supervision and regulation were thoroughly discussed during planning in the late 1980s and 1990s, but remained in the hands of member states. That omission proved to be a cause of crisis decades later. Here is an account that helps readers understand the European monetary crisis in depth, by tracing behind-the-scenes negotiations using an array of sources unavailable until now, notably from the European Community’s Committee of Central Bank Governors and the Delors Committee of 1988–89, which set out the plan for how Europe could reach its goal of monetary union. As this foundational study makes clear, it was the constant friction between politicians and technocrats that shaped the Euro. And, Euro or no Euro, this clash will continue into the future.




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.