Nominal interest rates fell to record-low levels globally in the decades prior to the pandemic. Five economies, Denmark, the euro area, Switzerland, Sweden and Japan, stand out by having adopted negative interest rate policies (NIRP). In this paper, we document that these economies have high...

Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) has transformed Europe and has created an integrated pan-European economy. Much research has focused on understanding this integration process and what benefits and costs it entails. This paper identifies a political economy channel of EMU as the monetary union...