into the euro area. This paper addresses the question of whether a reduction of public deficits, such as imposed by the … Maastricht fiscal criteria, is a necessary or useful step on the road to the adoption of the euro. The question is addressed by …

In the euro area, there is mixed evidence that the GDP per capita of lower-income economies has been catching up with …-convergence trap” long before the euro years. We also provide stylised facts on: (i) the central role of total factor productivity in … driving real convergence in the euro area over time, alongside other factors; and (ii) the crucial interaction of real …

In the euro area, there is mixed evidence that the GDP per capita of lower-income economies has been catching up with …-convergence trap" long before the euro years. We also provide stylised facts on: (i) the central role of total factor productivity in … driving real convergence in the euro area over time, alongside other factors; and (ii) the crucial interaction of real …

before a formal and permanent link to the euro, while real convergence is the ultimate objective of economic integration …. Novel features of the paper include broader measures of real convergence in both euro as well as local currencies, an …