In the fall of 1999, the recovery in Euroland is back on track. The turnaround was caused by the improvement in the world economy. After exports had been depressed in the past winter due to the weak demand in the crisis countries particularly in Asia, the impulses from abroad have picked up...

Stage Three of the European Monetary Union (EMU) will start on January 1, 1999. The new currency area, for which the name "Euroland" has been coined, will comprise 11 countries: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. The...

The decision on EMU strongly affects the course of monetary and fiscal policies in 1997 and especially in 1998. We assume that the monetary union will start in January 1, 1999 with a sizable number of participating countries. Once the decision on the members is made in the spring of 1998, any...

Die Europäische Währungsunion (EWU) soll am 1. Januar 1999 starten. Nicht auszuschließen ist, daß die Kriterien des Maastrichter Vertrags bei der Entscheidung über den Teilnehmerkreis Anfang 1998 großzügig gehandhabt werden und damit die Zahl der Teilnehmer hoch sein wird. Eine strikte...

The euro is a new currency, and the ECB as a new institution still has to establish its reputation. The best way to do this is for the ECB to deliver a stable money. The two-pillar strategy pursued by the ECB seems to confuse the markets because market participants are unclear about which of the...

The cyclical situation at the beginning of the European Monetary Union (EMU) is favorable: The upswing in Euroland has firmed, unemployment is going down, and inflation is low. However, economic growth outside the new currency area has weakened significantly during 1998, and fears are mounting...

Für die Teilnahme an der Währungsunion sollten nur Staaten zugelassen werden, die alle Konvergenzkriterien erfüllen. Bislang tun dies nur Deutschland, Irland und Luxemburg. In allen anderen Ländern bedarf es einschneidender Maßnahmen — insbesondere bei der Verringerung der öffentlichen...

Since the fall of last year, EMU countries have experienced a slowdown in economic activity triggered by a deceleration of exports. The expansion of internal demand has been more or less intact due to low interest rates and higher terms of trade. Consumer confidence has continued to rise and...

The Euroland economy is in a strong upswing. Last year, real GDP increased at a rate roughly equal to that of potential output in spite of the export losses in the wake of the crises in various countries of the world. There have been considerable impulses from monetary policy. Because of the...