Between 1995 and 2005, the German economy has experienced a phase of weak economic growth. We analyze whether this weak growth performance can be attributed to the stance of monetary conditions during that period. We show that the real effective exchange rate did have almost no dampening effects...

Since the establishment in 1979 of the Exchange Rate Mechanism of the EMS a number of countries, after entry, have experienced a substantial and persistent rise in their real exchange rate (the ratio of domestic to foreign prices). This paper explains this phenomenon in terms of a `peso problem'...

When the 1987 general elections brought a durable government to Portugal, the national environment was still inflationary. Nevertheless, thanks to the efforts of successive ministers of finance/central bank governor pairs, the criteria for Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) were met and the...

We apply Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) theory to the analysis of long- run equilibrium in the foreign exchange market. We study the case of Portugal vis-à-vis Germany and Spain, and the case of Spain vis-à-vis Germany, in the period 1960-1990. The empirical analysis was based on unit-root...

This paper addresses the issue of the transition from Stage Two of EMU to Stage Three. The criteria established in the Maastricht Treaty for this transition include an ERM qualification. Under this criterion a participating country would have had to maintain its position in the normal bands of...

We apply Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) theory to the analysis of long- run equilibrium in the foreign exchange market. We study the case of Portugal vis-à-vis Germany and Spain, and the case of Spain vis-à-vis Germany, in the period 1960-1990. The empirical analysis was based on unit-root...

This paper explores the conflict of real and monetary convergence during the EMU run-up of the Central and Eastern European new EU member states. Based on a Balassa-Samuelson model of productivity driven inflation, it finds a high probability of higher inflation in the new member states. It...

This paper analyzes the factors underlying the weakness of the euro. For this purpose, the framework advocated by Clarida and Gali (1994) is used. Within this model, three structural shocks drive the dynamics of the endogenous variables: aggregate supply shocks, aggregate spending shocks, and...

A panel data set for six Central and Eastern European countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia) is used to estimate the monetary exchange rate model with panel cointegration methods, including the Pooled Mean Group estimator, the Fully Modified Least Square...

Using the recent EC Commission report `One Market, One Money' as a point of reference, we consider the merits of a single currency in Europe. The main benefit is the reduction in transaction costs, which the report estimates at 0.4% of European Community (EC) GDP (but much less in countries with...