Im vergangenen Jahr wies Deutschland mit 2,7% die mit Abstand größte Defizitquote in der EU auf. Vor diesem Hintergrund empfahl die EU-Kommission, dass der Ecofin-Rat im Rahmen des Haushaltsüberwachungsverfahrens eine Frühwarnung aussprechen sollte. Da sich die Bundesregierung daraufhin...

This policy paper underscores the importance of credible currency regimes and their macroeconomic underpinnings for stability in financial systems and long-term economic convergence of developing and emerging market economies. It suggests that for developing regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa,...

When the principal decisions for the European Monetary Union (EMU) were made it was acknowledged that it would not be an optimal currency area (OCA). Potential trouble was assumed away as asymmetric shocks were expected to fade, while rising productivity enhanced the resilience of EMU member...

Estonia gave up the exchange rate and monetary policy tools of macroeconomic management when it introduced its currency board in 1992. While the currency board arrangement served the country well during transition in the 1990s, it offers limited flexibility to implement policies that would ease...

High expectations surrounded the two waves of eastward EU enlargement in 2004 and 2007, with the extension of the EU Internal Market being expected to deliver a substantial boost to economic growth in new and old member States alike. Indeed, considerable progress has been made, with existing...