This paper is an attempt to explain currency crises and exchange rate movements in open emerging markets during the 1990s. A model is developed that allows a systematic comparison and evaluation of three competing explanations for crises: weak economic fundamentals, contagion and sunspots, i.e....

Shortly before the parliamentary election in 2013, Germany is riding on a wave of euphoria: hardly any other euro country has weathered the financial and debt crisis so well. Since 2009, GDP has grown by over eight percent and 1.2 million new jobs have been created. Public finances were...

The coalition agreement of November 2013 includes a number of specific and ambitious goals relating to economic and social development. For instance, investment in infrastructure is to be increased and the income situation of certain groups of pensioners and employees improved through higher...

Kurz vor der Bundestagswahl 2013 schwimmt Deutschland in den Augen der Ökonomen auf einer Welle der Euphorie: Kaum ein anderes Euroland hat die Finanz- und Schuldenkrise so gut gemeistert. Das deutsche Bruttoinlandsprodukt ist seit 2009 um mehr als acht Prozent gewachsen, es entstanden rund 1,2...

This paper analyzes the integration process of European equity markets since the 1980s. Its central focus is on the role that EMU, and specifically, changes in exchange rate volatility, has played in this process of financial integration.

There is a broad consensus that the quality of the political system and its institutions are fundamental for a country's prosperity. The paper focuses on Italy's troubled politics over the past 35 years and asks whether the adoption of the euro in 1999 has helped insulate Italy's financial...

We study the convergence of European bond markets and the anchoring of inflation expectations in euro area countries using high-frequency bond yield data for France, Germany, Italy and Spain. We find that Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) has led to substantial convergence in euro area sovereign...

The paper analyses whether, and to what extent, emerging market economies (EMEs) have systemic importance for global financial markets, above and beyond their influence during crises episodes. Using a novel database of exogenous economic and political shocks for 14 EMEs, we find that EME shocks...