This conference volume deals with one of the most severe economic, social and political problems major European economies face since the early nineties, the problem of lasting high unemployment. Contrary to the current German discussion, solely concentrating on microeconomic explanations and...

In the past years central banks of major Western industrialised countries have repeatedly attempted to change the trend of the US-Dollar rate by means of intervention in the foreign exchange markets. Our authors analyse the objectives, effects and chances of success of such exchange market...

The discussion of target zones for flexible exchange rates is evidence of the desire to experiment with new instruments for stabilising the international monetary system. What distinguishes target zones from systems of flexible and fixed exchange rates? What form should they take? How should one...

The system of so-called Divergence Indicators in the European Monetary System puts pressure on the monetary authorities to consult before the intervention points are reached in the foreign exchange markets. Under integration aspects this arrangement marks an advance, but it also carries risks...

Critics of the EMS claim that it has failed to realise the hopes aroused at the time of its inception; a convergence of economic policies, they maintain, has not been induced by fixed exchange rates. What is the true position with regard to the convergence of economic policies?