Two developments are currently shaping Europe's financial and foreign exchange markets: Innovations, including the private use of the ECU, and the erratic fluctuations of the US dollar. Professor Nydegger analyses the causes and effects of these developments from the perspective of the world...

As the recent struggles connected with the readjustment of exchange rates within the European Monetary System have shown, the relatively unproblematic "running in" period of the EMS, which was supposed to be a constructive contribution to the creation of a more viable international monetary...

Contrary to the expectations of those who advocated flexible exchange rates prior to 1973, Williamson, in his study on exchange rate flexibility and reserve use, presented data which suggested “the paradoxical conclusion that reserve use actually increased following the adoption of...

The record of the European Monetary System at the five-year mark is rather a disappointment for the System’s advocates. Has the “EMS experiment” failed? Or is there potential for developing the System further to the advantage of all member countries?

Oil price increases and the persistent OPEC current account surpluses were considered the main problems of economic development in many industrial and developing countries long after the first oil crisis. Since 1983, however, the OPEC surpluses have been completely absorbed and the official base...

In a recent editorial (cf. INTERECONOMICS, No. 3/1984, p. 101) Professor Armin Gutowski commented on the surprising increase of the external value of the US dollar which seems to defy traditional explanations of exchange rate determination. The following article presents an American...