Les mésalignements de taux de change réels à l'intérieur de la zone euro

In spite of completely pegged parities inside the euro area, real effective exchange rates have continued to evolve differently across member countries due to inflation discrepancies. In this paper, we assess real exchange rate misalignments for the euro area countries over the period 1980-2010 by adopting a Behavioral Equilibrium Exchange Rate (BEER) approach. The results show that real exchange rates have been overvalued in peripheral countries since the mid-2000s, because their real appreciation has not matched an improvement in their economic fundamentals. Moreover, currency misalignments have widened for all member countries on average since the monetary union, while becoming more persistent. We also highlight that misalignments have been larger and more persistent in the peripheral countries than in the core countries. JEL Classification codes: F31, C23.