S ince 2008, the periphery of Europe has been suffering an economic contraction of a magnitude that in several countries is comparable to the US Great Depression. During the early 2000s, the periphery of Europe enjoyed rapid growth in domestic demand, wages, and employment. Much of this bonanza was fueled by large international capital infl ows. Figure 1 displays the current account, nominal ho...

In the context of the debate on increased integration of Eurozone banking markets, this paper evaluates the impact of the Single Market on bank productivity and assesses the cross-border benefits of integration in terms of technological spillovers. We utilise a parametric meta-frontier Divisia index to estimate productivity change and identify technological gaps. We then assess the extent to wh...

With EU accession looming, a new chapter has been opened in the debate about the candidate countries’ exchange rate strategies. A heated discussion has arisen in relation to ERM2 membership. The experience of the present eurozone members with ERM/ERM2 membership shows that none of them faced a significant challenge in the two-year “evaluation” period in terms of the exchange rate stability conv...

The introduction of the euro is one great achievements European integration process. We ask whether creation led to a significant increase in pig meat trade eurozone. industry most important sector, and EU world's second-biggest producer pork leading supplier global market. No study has yet been conducted this respect for sector. Our results suggest that was encouraged between countries sharing...

This research analyzes the main variables that determine immigration in Europe and includes aspects related to the economy, population, healthcare, and environmental sustainability. The empirical analysis consists of two sets of data: one made up of all EU member states (EU-28) and the other containing countries that form a part of the Eurozone (EU-19), using the Generalized Method of Moments. ...

At the end of the 80’s Central European Countries started to abandon their administratively fixed exchange rates and graudally adopted new monetary regimes with more or less emphasis on the exchange rate, inflation and growth targets. This study analyses the economic background of the choice of monetary regime in these countries and their success in curbing inflation. The main question the pape...

We estimate the political economy determinants of budget deficit forecast errors. Since the adoption of the Stability Pact, Eurozone governments have manipulated forecasts before elections. The political orientation and the institutional design of governments also affects the quality of forecasts. JEL classifications: H62, H87, C23, C53, E62

* This paper represents the views of the authors and not those of the Asian Development Bank, its executive directors, or the member countries that they represent. We are very grateful to our colleague Joao Farinha for encouraging us to write this paper and for his comments and suggestions. The usual disclaimer applies. Levy Institute scholars and conference participants. The purpose of the ser...

Japan has been in a benign liquidity trap since the 1990s. In a benign liquidity trap, interest rates approach zero and monetary policy is ineffective but output and employment perform decently. Such a pattern contradicts traditional macro theories. This paper introduces a monetary general equilibrium model that is compatible with Japan’s performance and resolves puzzles associated with liquidi...