This paper argues that, in contrast to the popular bipolar view on exchange rate choices, intermediate regimes in general and regional exchange rate systems such as the European Monetary System (EMS) in particular should not be ruled out per se even in today's world of highly mobile capital. The...

History shows that governments usually rethink their views on international macroeconomic cooperation after the emergence of a crisis. The response of the Asian countries after the speculative attacks occurred in 1997 may be considered as another example after the European ERM crisis in 1992-93....

The CFA franc devaluation on 11 January 1994 stands out as the most significant reform within the Franc Zone system since political independences of former African French colonies in 1960, yet a topic shrouded into profound taboo. So far, the economic literature has failed to draw any connection...

This paper evaluates the arguments for regional monetary cooperation in East Asia. Unlike in Europe, which saw longstanding discussions on the costs and benefits of monetary unification, a proper debate is not yet underway in East Asia. Instead, the quot;classicalquot; European arguments for and...

Differential requirements for seigniorage provide a weak case for retaining monetary independence. As regards adjustment to asymmetric shocks, nominal exchange rate flexibility is at best a limited blessing and at worst a limited curse. Absence of significant fiscal redistribution mechanisms...

Several European countries face challenges reminiscent of those faced by the emerging economies of Latin America. The economic booms in some peripheral Euro-zone countries financed by large capital inflows; the credit and asset price booms and then the busts including Sudden Stops in capital...

This paper analyses the functioning of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM). To that end, we apply duration models to estimate an eclectic specification that enables us to explicitly incorporated political and institutional factors into the explanation of European exchange rate policies....

This paper examines the regime changes in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), by applying the duration model approach to quarterly data of eight currencies participating in the ERM, covering the complete European Monetary System (EMS) history. We first make use of the nonparametric...

In the winter 2011/12 a wave of internal capital .ight prompted the ECB to abandon its exit strategy and to announce an unprecedented monetary expansion. We analyze this episode in several dimensions: (i) by providing an event-study analysis covering key variables from national central...

In the winter 2011/12 a wave of internal capital flight prompted the ECB to abandon its exit strategy and to announce an unprecedented monetary expansion. We analyze this episode in several dimensions: (i) by providing an event-study analysis covering key variables from national central banks'...