Exchange rate volatility and long-term distortions of exchange rate levels have given rise to concern among participants in international trade. Do exchange rate fluctuations have an adverse impact on the volume of trade? What measures could be taken to achieve greater exchange rate stability?

Europeans have a tendency to call the financial crisis a US problem, or a crisis precipitated by the "Anglo-Saxon" model. The data suggest otherwise. Moreover, the corporate sector in Europe has a much lower capacity to finance investment from internal sources of funds, which implies that a...