This paper is a first attempt at evaluating the determinants of the total interest rate differentials on government bonds between high yielders, namely Spain, Italy, Sweden, and Germany. In particular, we address the question of the relative importance of local and global factors in the...

If the third stage of monetary union in Europe begins on 1 January 1999, not all EU countries will participate: two, with opt-out clauses, may choose to stay out; others will have a derogation because they do not fulfil the required conditions. The Maastricht Treaty, while silent on the regime...

This paper attempts to provide an interpretation of recent developments in the EMS. The System has evolved from a regime of adjustable, frequently adjusted parities, where capital controls provided a shelter to weaker currencies, to one where this shelter is being removed, in advance of Stage...

This paper is a first attempt at evaluating the determinants of the interest rate differentials on government bonds between high yielders, namely Italy, Spain and Sweden, and Germany. In particular the authors concentrate on daily frequencies, where the relevance of economic fundamentals is...

The paper examines the possible motivations behind the plea for fiscal rules in the Delors Report. We argue that coordination problems arising from aggregate demand spillovers cannot be solved by means of budget rules and that in any case they are not important in Europe. We then discuss the...

This paper is a first attempt at evaluating the determinants of the total interest rate differentials on government bonds between high yielders, namely Italy, Spain, Sweden and Germany. In particular we address the question of the relative importance of local and global factors in the...

This paper analyses the constraints on the choice of the conversion rates resulting from the fact that the external value of the Ecu cannot be changed at the start of the third stage of EMU and that one Ecu must be converted into one Euro. These constraints force the authorities to accept the...