While economic theory highlights the usefulness of flexible exchange rates in promoting adjustment in international relative prices, flexible exchange rates also can be a source of destabilizing shocks. We find that when countries joining the euro currency union abandoned their national exchange...

While economic theory highlights the usefulness of flexible exchange rates in promoting adjustment in international relative prices, flexible exchange rates also can be a source of destabilizing shocks. We find that when countries joining the euro currency union abandoned their national exchange...

We apply a dynamic factor model using Bayesian methods to estimate andcompare the dynamics of real exchange rate (RER) convergence of the originalEuropean monetary union (EMU) member countries both before and after theintroduction of the euro with those of a larger sample of European countries....