Germany prides itself in having one of the most successful central banks and currencies with respect to independence and stability. I show that not only were both imposed on the country after 1945 but that there was also initial resistance to both among German experts and officials. This is a...

Why do large European banks lobby for monetary union? We show in a game-theoretic model that monetary union can trigger a change in the structure of the market for international banking transactions with asymmetric effects on profits: large banks are induced to cooperate internationally and gain...

The most recent wave of political integration in Europe is usually interpreted to represent a consequence of German unification, following which the other EU countries attempted to contain an imputed threat of the change in the European balance of power. This paper shows that German unification...