The anaemic growth of the European Union/euro area derives from its economic paradigms. The principle 'one size fits all' behind European Central Bank policy activates centrifugal forces. Diverging trends in unit labour costs, external competitiveness and external balances follow. German policy...

This study presents a concise analysis of the macroeconomic developments in four cohesion countries (CCs) Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain, from 1960 to 2000. Special attention is being paid to the economic performance of these countries after their accession to the European Union (EU). The...

Sustainable growth in catching-up countries requires the widening of the foreign trade bottleneck. It is however not clear whether two prescriptions aiming at solving this problem greater exchange rate flexibility and the liberalization of the capital market, are in reality not contradictory....