Industrielle Konzentration als Kriterium für die Geeignetheit eines einheitlichen Währungsraums - Eine empirische Untersuchung der Europäischen Union von 1972 bis 1996

Using empirical tests on 52 industrial sectors, this paper shows that industrial agglomeration has increased significantly in Europe since 1972. However, important differences can be observed between the sectors. These differences suggest that discrepancies between EU countries - which are emphasised as the Union becomes more integrated - cannot primarily be explained by economies of scale but could be explained by classic Heckscher-Ohlin theory. If so, the European Union is increasingly vulnerable to external asymmetric shocks: while integration progresses, the EU decreasingly fulfills the criteria of an optimal currency area.