This paper attempts to examine the challenges of monetary integration in the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) during the period 2001-2017, within the framework of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Monetary Cooperation Programme (EMCP). The paper recounts the evolution of...

This paper examines whether European integration, manifesting itself in increased trade and FDI linkages, new specializations and economic policy coordination, contributed to the synchronization of business cycles in the enlarged EU. We estimate the effects on bilateral growth rate correlations...

We derive Taylor rates for those CEE-EU countries which are not part of the Eurozone. The degree of heterogeneity decreased tremendously over time (2005 - 2015). Nevertheless, the business cycles are still not fully synchronized. As a consequence, joining the Eurozone seems to be premature and...

This paper studies the pros and cons of a monetary union for the ASEAN1 countries, excluding Myanmar. We estimate a stylized open-economy dynamic general equilibrium model for the ASEAN countries. Using the framework of linear quadratic differential games, we contrast the potential gains or...

The economic and monetary union was actually compulsory, despite that the Maastricht Treaty does not express as such. Moreover, specialists argue that the monetary union is equally required to be fiscal as well. And what is this? Of course, strenghtening central governance, once more against the...

We study lessons from the experience of Finland in meeting the challenges of joining the euro area at its outset and its subsequent economic success. Traditional optimum currency area theory is too limited a framework for judging the experience in qualifying and membership.Five main factors have...

We propose using a simple Taylor rule to evaluate business cycle convergence of the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland with the Eurozone. Our findings indicate an ongoing convergence of those CEE countries to the Eurozone, but with instabilities and heterogeneity between the countries....

Unilateral euroization is underexplored even in comparison to unilateral dollarization (taken to mean the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender). This paper attempts to partly fill this gap in the literature by investigating the case of Montenegro, which is one of the two countries that have...

This paper assesses the feasibility of forming a common currency in Latin America. First, we examine the cointegration and Granger causality of real effective exchange rates and find evidence supporting a monetary union comprised of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and...

While the European Monetary Union (EMU) is now a real ity, debate among economists nonetheless continues about the design and desirability of monetary unions.Since an essential element of a monetary union is the delegation of monetary power to a single centralized entity, one of the key issues...