We review the literature on business cycle correlation between the euro area and the Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs), a topic that has gained attention as the newest EU members approach monetary union. Our meta-analysis of 35 identified publications suggests some CEECs already...

In 1961, in the earlier stage of the European integration, professor Bela Balassa proposed a five successive phase model. Today, the half century experience on integration and corresponding literature issued lets us see rather two big phases (instead of five). The one would be the incipient...

This paper assesses the empirical desirability of the East Asian economies to an alternative exchange rate arrangement (a monetary union) that can potentially enhance the exchange rate stability and credibility in the region. Specifically, the symmetry in macroeconomic disturbances of the East...

In 1961, in the earlier stage of the European integration, Bela Balassa proposed a five successive phase model about it as a foresight. Today, the half century experience on integration and corresponding literature issued just lets us see rather two big phases (instead of five). The one would be...

This paper examines the macroeconomic costs and benefits of dollarization. Economic theory suggests that the main benefit is enhanced price stability, while the main cost is higher business-cycle volatility if the dollarizing country’s output is not sufficiently correlated with that of the...

A crisis that is currently stiffing the Euro Zone does equally suspend and shadows the debate on the European integration, that actually remains a different issue and, why not, still useful. This integration needs some more corrections: the old model revising, updating or readapting to a new...

Recently there have been intensively developing integration processes in the CIS area and one of the possible and reasonable scenarios of their future development seems to be the establishment of a monetary union by some CIS countries. This research attempts a theoretical study of the CIS...

The Asian financial crisis in mid-1997 has increased interest in policies to achieve greater regional exchange rate stability in East Asia. It has renewed calls for greater monetary and exchange rate cooperation. A country’s suitability to join a monetary union depends, inter alia, on the...