The authors analyze how the design of the central bank interacts with the implementation of structural reforms in a monetary union. They show that the first-best is achieved when the common central bank is collectively designed, irrespective of whether or not reforms are cooperatively...

Walsh (1995) was the first author to find a full solution to the problem of time inconsistency in monetary policy, namely, a contract that eliminates the inflation bias without incurring any output stabilization costs. We provide an alternative method for obtaining such an optimal contract. Its...

This paper explores the interrelations between budget deficits and structural reforms in a monetary union. The analysis considers the international spillovers generated by both policies. We show that efforts to achieve fiscal policy coordination within the Eurozone reduce member countries’...

The game-theoretic literature on monetary policy in open economies has traditionally concluded that central banks should implement monetary policy in a cooperative fashion. This paper considers an alternative mechanism for internalizing the external effects: in the first stage, governments...