This paper aims at the provision of applicable recommendations for institutions and actors involved regarding the EMU accession process both in CEE and in the euro-zone. In order to provide topical advice, the first part, on markets, will concentrate on theory and empirics of labour markets,...

We estimate the impact of hurricane strikes on local economic growth rates and how this is reflected in more aggregate growth patterns. To this end we assemble a panel data set of US coastal counties' growth rates and construct a hurricane destruction index that is based on a monetary loss...

Flexible labor markets require geographically mobile workers to be efficient. Otherwise, firms can take advantage of the immobility of workers and extract monopsony rents. In cultures with strong family ties, moving away from home is costly. Thus, individuals with strong family ties rationally...

This paper uses individual-level data to characterize economy-wide job creation and destruction during periods of massive structural adjustment. We contrast the gradualist Czech and the rapid Estonian approach to the destruction of the communist economy to provide evidence on selected...

Eastward enlargement is one of the hot topics in European economics. The accession of central and eastern European Countries (CEEC) into the European Union (EU) is accompanied by an extension of the eurozone to this region. This paper surveys likely outcomes and challenges of this specific...

Once part of the European Union no 'opt-out' means, for CEE applicant countries, that they will have to become members of the Eurozone as soon as they fulfil the Maastricht criteria. However, compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact and aiming at nominal and real convergence imply efforts...

Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries are expected to join the European monetary union (EMU) in a couple of years after their accession to the EU. According to the official views of the European Commission and the European central bank (ECB), monetary integration of CEE countries in the...

We document that home ownership of households with heads aged 25-44 years fell substantially between 1980 and 2000 and recovered only partially during the 2001{2005 housing boom. The 1980{2000 decline in young home ownership occurred as improvements in mortgage opportunities made it easier to...

Recent empirical and theoretical literature on the impact of real exchange rate devaluations on economic performance questions the traditional expansionary effect generated within standard Mundell-Fleming models. Contractionary devaluations may arise when firms face maturity or currency...

A seminal paper by Fama and Bliss (1987) showed that a simple regression model could explain a significant portion of 1-year ahead excess returns. Cochrane and Piazzesi (2005) showed that their regression model could explain a significantly larger por tion of excess returns than Fama and...