Economic Convergence in the Euro Area: Coming Together or Drifting Apart?

Economic Convergence in the Euro Area: Coming Together or Drifting Apart?
Author: Mr.Jeffrey R. Franks
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 47
Release: 2018-01-23
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1484338499

We examine economic convergence among euro area countries on multiple dimensions. While there was nominal convergence of inflation and interest rates, real convergence of per capita income levels has not occurred among the original euro area members since the advent of the common currency. Income convergence stagnated in the early years of the common currency and has reversed in the wake of the global economic crisis. New euro area members, in contrast, have seen real income convergence. Business cycles became more synchronized, but the amplitude of those cycles diverged. Financial cycles showed a similar pattern: sychronizing more over time, but with divergent amplitudes. Income convergence requires reforms boosting productivity growth in lagging countries, while cyclical and financial convergence can be enhanced by measures to improve national and euro area fiscal policies, together with steps to deepen the single market.

Euro Area Policies

Euro Area Policies
Author: International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 94
Release: 2017-07-25
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 148431235X

This paper focuses on the convergence performance of euro area countries before and after euro introduction. The analysis compares per capita incomes across countries, both for the initial group of twelve countries that adopted the euro before 2002 (the so-called EA-12) as well as the current group of 19 euro area members (EA-19). The convergence process has stalled since the introduction of the euro, except for new euro area members which reduced their income gaps vis-à-vis the founding members until their adoption of the common currency. The convergence of income levels is not a prerequisite for a functioning monetary union, but has been considered an important objective of the European economic integration process. Lagging productivity growth in countries with lower initial GDP per capita is found to be the main explanation for the lack of convergence, suggesting that structural reforms can help to restart the convergence process.

EU Law of Economic & Monetary Union

EU Law of Economic & Monetary Union
Author: Fabian Amtenbrink
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 1649
Release: 2020-05-21
Genre: Law
ISBN: 019251248X

Presenting a sweeping analysis of the legal foundations, institutions, and substantive legal issues in EU monetary integration, The EU Law of Economic and Monetary Union serves as an authoritative reference on the legal framework of European economic and monetary union. The book opens by setting out the broader contexts for the European project - historical, economic, political, and regarding the international framework. It goes on to examine the constitutional architecture of EMU; the main institutions and their legal powers; the core legal provisions of monetary and economic union; and the relationship of EMU with EU financial market and banking regulation. The concluding section analyses the current EMU crisis and the main avenues of future reform.

European Union

European Union
Author: Vasileios Vlachos
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2019-06-14
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3030181030

This book discusses the unprecedented impact of the financial and economic crisis on government finances and economic performance across Europe, which has raised skepticism on the ability of the current course of integration to promote prosperity. Correspondingly, the European Union is about to contract for the first time in its history. This timely book covers the economic issues that challenge the future of integration in Europe. The chapters are authored by international experts and examine current and emerging challenges and trends for the European Union: economic convergence, monetary policy, competition law, transport policy, the informal sector, employment, recovery and enlargement. Four chapters focus on Greece, which has been the greatest challenge faced by European institutions in the context of the sovereign debt crisis, and one chapter discusses the possible costs of Brexit. The reader will benefit from understanding the key economic challenges, which, if effectively addressed, will lead to deepening the union, or in contrast to a multi-speed Europe.

Structural Reforms and Economic Growth in Europe

Structural Reforms and Economic Growth in Europe
Author: Nauro F. Campos
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 467
Release: 2020-04-02
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1108479111

In contrast to the USA, Europe has struggled to return to the growth path it was on prior to the financial crisis of 2007-11. Not only has the recovery been slow, it has also been variable with Europe's core countries recovering more quickly than those on the periphery. It is widely believed that the best way to address this slow recovery is through structural reform programmes whereby changes in government policy, regulatory frameworks, investment incentives and labour markets are used to encourage more efficient markets and higher economic growth. This book is the first to provide a critical assessment of these reforms, with a new theoretical framework, new data and new empirical methodologies. It includes several case studies of countries such as Greece, Portugal and France that introduced significant reforms, revealing that such programmes have very divergent, and not always positive, effects on economic growth, employment and income inequality.

Real and Financial Sectors in Post-Pandemic Central and Eastern Europe

Real and Financial Sectors in Post-Pandemic Central and Eastern Europe
Author: Bojana Olgić Draženović
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2022-05-11
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3030998509

This book offers new insights into the real and financial sectors in the post-pandemic European Union, with a specific focus on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and a special reference to Croatia. The contributors examine the timeliness, justification, and appropriateness of the measures taken in response to the deteriorating economic conditions and the associated outcomes. They further discuss various aspects of economic, financial, and energy policy. While doing so, they focus on two important issues. The first is an analysis and assessment of the financial development and performance of the real sector. The second is an insight into the institutional dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the discussion of obstacles and opportunities for recovery in the near future. The topics covered in this book include, but are not limited to, unconventional monetary policy, financial cycles, fiscal incentives, institutional development and institutional quality, the banking system, real estate markets, competitiveness, pension systems, financial regulation, energy markets, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, as well as agricultural policy. Therefore, this volume will appeal to researchers, students, and scholars of finance and economics, as well as policy-makers interested in a better understanding of real and financial sectors, economic policy, and post-pandemic economic development in Central and Eastern Europe.

Strengthening the Euro Area

Strengthening the Euro Area
Author: Mr.Romain A Duval
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 31
Release: 2019-06-13
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1498319742

The SDN will focus mostly on EA countries but also touch on other AEs for comparison purposes. The SDN will make several original contributions in each of the areas above based on new DSGE-model-based analysis, cross-country panel regressions, and individual-level (firm- or household-level) empirical work where appropriate.

The EU Reexamined

The EU Reexamined
Author: Jörn A. Kämmerer
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2024-09-06
Genre: Law
ISBN: 103531486X

Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this book examines the experience of the European Union in bringing multiple sovereign nations under a common economic umbrella, and goes on to ask if the EU can serve as a blueprint for other regions that are striving for economic integration or if it is ‘too unique’ to be emulated. To this end, the book draws on contemporary and historical law and politics as well as economic analyses.

Handbook of Research on Social and Economic Development in the European Union

Handbook of Research on Social and Economic Development in the European Union
Author: Bayar, Yilmaz
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 614
Release: 2019-11-29
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1799811905

The EU has experienced serious economic and political crises such as the sovereign debt crisis and Brexit in the past few years. However, despite these issues, the EU has implemented considerable institutional, fiscal, and collective improvements during the unification process to continue as a significant actor in the global economy. The Handbook of Research on Social and Economic Development in the European Union provides a multidisciplinary evaluation of the institutional, economic, and social development of the European Union and makes inferences for the future dynamics and collaborations of the EU, the global economy, and other countries. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as energy security, gender discrimination, and global economics, this book is ideally designed for government officials, policymakers, world leaders, politicians, diplomats, international relations officers, economists, business professionals, historians, market analysts, academicians, researchers, and students concerned about the multifaceted integration processes surrounding the EU.

Economic Crisis and Economic Thought

Economic Crisis and Economic Thought
Author: Tommaso Gabellini
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 442
Release: 2019-01-23
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317215486

The ongoing economic crisis has revealed fundamental problems both in our economic system and the discipline which analyses it. This book presents a series of contrasting but complementary approaches in economic theory in order to offer a critical toolkit for examining the modern capitalist economy. The global economic crisis may have changed the world in which we live, but not the fundamental tenets of the discipline. This book is a critical assessment of the relation between economic theory and economic crises: how intellectual thinking impacts on real economic events and vice versa. It aims at challenging the conventional way in which economics is taught in universities and later adopted by public officials in the policymaking process. The contributions, all written by distinguished academics and researchers, offer a heterodox perspective on economic thinking and analysis. Each chapter is inspired by alternative theoretical approaches which have been mostly side-lined from current academic teaching programmes. A major suggestion of the book is that the recent economic crisis can be better understood by recovering such theoretical analyses and turning them into a useful framework for economic policymaking. Economic Crisis and Economic Thought is intended as a companion to economics students at the Master’s and PhD level, in order for them to confront issues related to the labour market, the financial sector, macroeconomics, industrial economics, etc. with an alternative and complementary perspective. It challenges the way in which economic theory is currently taught and offered via alternatives for the future.