Countries of central eastern Europe which are candidates for accession to the European Union face fundamental challenges in the conduct of macroeconomic policies. These countries are characterized by growth rates faster than those of EU countries, along with large current account deficits and an...

Using both macro and industry-level data this paper analyses the nonlinear effects of financial development and international financial integration on economic growth in Europe. Special attention is devoted to modeling threshold effects with respect to the depth of financial markets as a measure...

Several observers have raised the issue of whether the process of real convergence of candidate countries to income levels of EU members is compatible with the adoption of the Euro, as Maastricht criteria impose strict constraints on nominal variables. In particular, inflation should converge to...

This papers provides an empirical analysis of the role of financial development and financial integration in the growth dynamics of transition countries. We focus on the role of financial integration in determining the impact of financial development on growth, distinguishing "normal times" from...

Using empirical evidence from panel analysis of current account dynamics and of bilateral trade balances, the paper argues that the large German current account surplus during the 2000s can be explained by an increasing gap between productivity growth in manufacturing vis-à-vis services. Such a...

The surge in the German current account surplus in the 2000s is often interpreted as the result of efficiency-enhancing structural reforms, especially in the labor market. However, this interpretation is puzzling because the growth rate of the German economy has been one of the lowest in the...

Real exchange appreciation has been a common feature in transition economies since the launching of stabilization and reform programs at the beginning of the 1990s. Previous literature has described this phenomenon as an equilibrium adjustment that followed a sharp undervaluation at the start of...

This Paper develops a framework for the analysis of the effects of institutions on economic performance in a monetary union in the presence of stabilization policy, unionized labour markets and monopolistically competitive price setting firms. Nominal wages are fixed contractually. In spite of...