The growing use of the European Currency Unit (ECU) in private transactions is often expected to produce a decisive impetus towards monetary integration within Europe. On the other hand, critics warn of the monetary risks of increased private use of the ECU. What are the opportunities and risks...

The study analyses the characteristics of professional exchange rate forecasts for the € /US-$ rate. The results indicate that the quality of forecasts produced by professional economists is rather poor and incompatible with the rational expectations hypothesis. This dismal result is according...

The Hartz IV reforms are consistently regarded as a successful German model for the reduction of structural unemployment. Is it therefore appropriate to advise other member states of the European monetary union to carry out similar reforms? This paper strongly disagrees, arguing that the...

Seit seiner Einführung am 1. Januar 1999 hat der Euro über ein Viertel seines Außenwertes verloren. Nachdem alle auf makroökonomischen Fundamentalfaktoren basierenden Ansätze die andauernde Schwäche der europäischen Währung nicht zu erklären vermochten, hat die These, dass die Schwäche...