The stringent deficit criterion followed by the EMU is motivated by the belief that a sustainable fiscal arrangement is a must for a viable monetary union. In this paper we provide an empirical analysis of the issue of deficit convergence in the Euro area and compare and contrast the Euro-zone...

In this paper we study the relationship between labor market institutions and monetary policy. We use a simple macroeconomic framework to show how optimal monetary policy rules depend on labor institutions (labor adjustment costs, and nominal and real wage rigitidy) and social preferences...

The paper documents how the code of conduct implied by membership of the escudo in the Exchange Rate Mechanism of the Europan Monetary System (ERM) allowed Portugal to qualify for Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), ultimately moving the currency into the euro. This unwritten code of conduct...

This paper discusses possible links between monetary arrangements -in particular monetary union- and economic growth. It is stressed that growth depends ultimately on how the real economy works: there is no monetary magic that can conjure up growth. But monetary policy can contribute to...

Avocates of formal fiscal restraints on the member states of the European Monetary Union often argue that US experience proves that a monetary union needs such constraints to guarantee the stability of the common currency. We show, first, that the origin of formal fiscal restraints on US state...

This Paper investigates the importance of fiscal policy in providing macroeconomic stabilisation in a monetary union. We use a microfounded New Keynesian model of a monetary union that incorporates persistence in inflation, and examine non-cooperative interactions of fiscal and monetary...

This paper is a pioneering attempt to include India with east and Southeast Asia to study the existence of the economic criteria for a common currency. The analysis in this paper shows that significant complementarities in trade exist among these countries, most of them experience similar shocks...

The paper examines if the seven South Asian countries satisfy the criteria to form an optimal currency area. The empirical part of the paper reveals some positive attributes (such as the existence of positive shocks for major economies like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka). The paper provides...