Assuming the convergency criteria are not watered down, European Monetary Union will begin on 1.1.1999 with just a few core countries. With the help of the theory of clubs, Professor F. L. Sell analyses the incentive effects of the "monetary club" on founding members and "outsiders".

The paper first aims at showing that personal income distribution – at least after government intervention – tends to be a stationary variable for many European countries. This finding backs earlier results achieved by Ramser (1987). Furthermore, personal incomes follow a log-normal...