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 paper explores the effects of nominal volatility and limited participation in asset markets on the risk sharing possibilities available to agents. When the set of financial assets is a decision of agents and is constrained by the resources available for investment, limited participation and...