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...

Häufig wird gefordert, die Wirtschaftspolitik international zu koordinieren; wegen der engen Integration der Weltwirtschaft könnten die wirtschaftlichen Probleme nur durch gemeinsame, aufeinander abgestimmte Maßnahmen bewältigt werden. Die Befürworter dieser Strategie berufen sich dabei...

The economic recovery in the euro area lost momentum in 2004. After a strong increase during the first half, real GDP rose at an annual rate of less than 1 percent in the following two quarters. Overall capacity utilization, which had increased in the first half of 2004 for the first time in...

The economic recovery in the euro area has accelerated in the course of 2004. During the first two quarters, real GDP rose at an annual rate of slightly over 2 percent, after about 1½ percent in the second half of 2003. For the first time since 2001, overall capacity utilization increased....

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...

The need for a stable monetary policy arises from several facts about business cycles. For example, practically all recessions in industrial countries were preceded by restrictive measures of central, banks. The main cause for the instability, however, was the expansionary policy that led to a...