This paper analyzes the transmission of inflation across the five largest economies in the European Monetary Union, i.e. France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain. We use monthly CPI inflation rates for the period 1970-2006. Given the long observation period and the continuing economic...

Although analyzed in terms of criteria for defining an optimum currency area, we could appreciate that EU fulfils certain criteria established within the theory of the optimum currency area. But in comparison with USA or Canada, the EU has less premises to effectively become such an area. The...

The paper examines whether exchange rates in Poland and Slovakia acted as shock absorbers or rather shock-propagating mechanisms. A set of Bayesian structural VAR models is built for each country that enables us to identify supply, demand, monetary and financial shocks. Identifying restrictions...

This paper reviews the economic and monetary impacts of the creation of the 1979 European Monetary System on the participating countries and shows that they did not meet all the required theoretical criteria for a successful monetary integration process. Despite this handicap, the 1979 monetary...

The question whether the European Monetary System has brought about a reduction in the variability of its members' exchange rates is not a trivial issue since central rates are adjustable and bilateral exchange rates are allowed to move freely within fairly large margins. In this paper I have...

Money, credit and monetary markets are interlinked with each other and linked to real sector of the economy. There is clearly no single market called money market, but there are two money markets, asset-money and credit-money markets, that money is created by the interactions between them. This...

This article provides an overview of major theoretical concepts behind the process of European economic integration. At first, the classic theory of customs unions as formulated by Viner, Meade and others is explained taking also into account factor mobility in a customs union in the move...

The aim of this paper is to assess the non-monetary effects of the euro accession of Poland. The literature identifies two channels that potentially may affect the economy: (i) diminishing of investment risk premia through lower interest rates and cost of capital services and (ii) trade creation...

This paper reviews the literature on the labour market institutions in European Union Member States in the context of monetary integration. Traditionally, labour markets are a key concept in the optimal currency area theory, playing the role of the only accommodation mechanism of asymmetric...