The objective of this paper is to test the exchange rate regime – growth nexus in transition economies by looking if and how some inherent characteristics of the transition process might have affected the de-facto classifications of exchange rate regimes. 28 transition countries of Central and...

About five decades the Franc CFA-Zone in Western and Central Africa was praised as incarnation of economic and political stability in Africa, backed by France. But free convertibility and fixed parity, guaranteed by the French Treasury, mainly served the interest of a small elite of the...

This paper investigates the causes behind the euro debt crisis, particularly Germany's role in it. It is argued that the crisis is not primarily a "sovereign debt crisis" but rather a (twin) banking and balance of payments crisis. Intra-area competitiveness and current account imbalances, and...

This paper investigates why Europe fared particularly poorly in the global economic crisis that began in August 2007. It questions the self-portrait of Europe as the victim of external shocks, pushed off track by reckless policies pursued elsewhere. It argues instead that Europe had not only...

Since 2007, the economic and monetary situation in the euro Area has been seriously affected by the developments generated by an ongoing crisis. The status and evolution of candidate countries took a sudden turn, criteria fulfillment had to be reconsidered, stability became an issue and the Euro...

Pendant les premieres annees de l'union monetaire, la faiblesse de l'euro a surpris la plupart des observateurs. Les explications se sont multipliees allant de fondamentaux tels que les differentiels de croissance anticipes aux facteurs psychologiques tels que les comportements gregaires, mais...

This paper analyses the constraints European Union law places on the 1 January 1999 choices of irrevocably fixed conversion rates between the euro and the currencies of EMU members states. Current EU legislation, notably the Maastricht Treaty, requires that the bilateral currency conversion...