The economics of monetary unions: past experiences and the eurozone

This book provides a historical analysis of the precedents of the Eurozone. Given the historical context, current problems affecting the Euro are discussed. As the book is based on scientific research articles, it starts by comparing today's challenges in the context of previous monetary unions, drawing on experiences of a comparable monetary union, the gold standard. It then goes on to address the current issues of the Eurozone, which mainly stem from the running of permanent trade imbalances among the eurozone members. Further, the advantages and disadvantages of being part of the Euro monetary system are explored for different members. The authors attempt to calculate the optimality of the eurozone monetary union through internal macroeconomic asymmetries. Next, the eurozone fiscal union proposals are evaluated and their political feasibility. The last two chapters assess whether the currency union will ultimately lead to a political union for the Eurozone to survive. …