The Structure of the Legal Profession in England and Wales.

The paper first addresses the issue of the conduct of monetary and exchange-rate policy in Europe in the wake of the foreign-exchange crises of 1992 and 1993. The causes of these crises are investigated and the case for seeking a resurrection of a "fairly fixed" exchange-rate system in Europe is appraised. It appears that stability in such a system could be assured in one of three ways via capital controls, via increased flexibility, or via increased symmetry in policy. A quick move to complete monetary union is a further possibility. The second part of the paper addresses the monetary policy problems facing the U.K.; a key issue identified here is the need for a stable and consistent policy. To provide a framework conducive to satisfying this need, it appears that constitutional change may be called for. The paper appraises the merits of "independence" in central banking. Copyright 1994 by Oxford University Press.