Wage growth has remained under control after the formation of the European Monetary Union (EMU). The literature has advanced numerous explanations to account for this phenomenon. But, arguments about the need to preserve competitiveness in an enlarged market remain too generic. At the same time,...

At the start of the Third Stage of EMU, it was by no means clear whether the ECB would succeed in setting up an efficient framework for distributing liquidity throughout the euro-zone. Now in retrospect, however, the ECB appears to have been quite successful. In this paper, we will look at the...

[From the introduction]. The synchronicity of cycles in real output is a subject that has attracted increased attention in the eld of economics, largely because not only is the international synchronicity of turning points of business cycles a "stylized fact", but also because within a monetary...

There is now a consensus that economic growth is a dominant determinant of poverty. That is, poverty reduction requires sustained economic growth significantly above the population growth so that per capita income continues to rise. Economic growth raises mean income and reduces the proportion...

This paper presents a critique of the traditional textbook representation of fiscal policy, and highlights the misleading policy implications perpetuated by this analysis. In particular, the conclusion that fiscal deficits are likely to be associated with higher interest rates is disputed, as is...

This paper explores the role of monetary policy in the context of a less developed economy. Monetary transmission mechanisms in less developed economies can be quite different from an industrialized economy, as unlike industrialized countries, these economies are characterized by the small size...