Recent studies find that short-term fluctuations in EMU have been symmetric. This finding leads to benign views on the functioning of EMU as an optimum currency area (OCA), that are difficult to reconcile with the sovereign debt crisis. We try to solve this puzzle by looking at medium-term...

This work aims to assess whether the hypothesis of endogenous synchronisation of shocks is verified in the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). A state-space model, which yields time-varying coefficients, is estimated with structural demand and supply shocks to several European economies...

We estimate the impact of fiscal measures adopted in response to the COVID-19 crisis at the euro area level, combining standard macroeconomic data with an index on the strictness of ‘lockdown style’ policies. Given the multitude of shocks occurred simultaneously during the pandemic, the...