This is what we've all been waiting for - a book that demystifies the European community's monetary union. Unlike other books, this one provides readers with a practical yet sophisticated grasp of the macroeconomic principles necessary to understand a monetary union. The most important case in...

This book explores the scope and limits of macroeconomic policy in a monetary union. The focus is on pure policies, policy mixes, and policy coordination. The leading protagonists are the union central bank, national governments, and national trade unions. Special emphasis is put on wage shocks...

This paper develops a model of optimal debt maturity in which the government cannot issue statecontingent debt. As the literature has established, if the government can perfectly commit to fiscal policy, it fully insulates the economy against government spending shocks by purchasing short-term...