This book provides an original and wide-ranging analysis of the impact of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) on economic governance in the EU and in several key Member States within and outside the Euro area. Its emphasis is on adaptation: how EMU encourages change in national and EU institutions and in national economic regimes. It brings together economic, political science and legal perspectives to explain how national economies adapted, the dynamics of policy-making and the complex web of laws, processes and actors in the EMU.

Recoge: 1. Introduction. - 2. Stylised developments. - 3. Analysing the characteristics of adjustment in EMU. - 4. Country dynamics. - 5.A possible adjustment scenario for Spain and Germany. - Concluding Remarks. - Appendix: A two-country-Three-Sector DSGE model.

The advent of the euro is a significant event for portfolio managers, both within and outside the monetary union. The euro will affect portfolio decisions through a variety of channels and the emergence of a single currency marks the disappearance of explicit and psychological barriers to international investing. The set of investment opportunities qualifying as 'domestic' is expanding, while the need for diversification across currencies must now be met by an increased demand for assets which are not denominated in euros. This paper examines the principal factors influencing the portfolio reallocation process following the introduction of the euro. Three broad categories of possible portfolio allocation are considered: domestic versus non-domestic investment, debt versus equity investment, and public debt versus private debt investment.

Before the latest EU enlargement substantial changes in the integration process were predicted as a result of the accession of 10 new member states, with some forecasting cataclysmic consequences. This book, the first ex post assessment of EU enlargement, provides evidence to the contrary, while also providing examples in which the new members have been able to influence the EU policy output with their liberal attitudes on economic and social policy.

The sudden transformation of the Cold War security order in 1989 altered the structure of the European state system, and necessitates the striking of a new balance between the economic, political and military requirements of security. This volume focuses on the most important institutions of European security, the European Union and NATO. Both institutions are expanding, especially eastwards, in terms of their respective roles and membership.

This paper analyses how adjustment dynamics, in an environment with some degree of price and wage rigidity, may create and strengthen asymmetric developments in a monetary union. It presents a simple illustrative model of adjustment dynamics that reproduces quite nicely actual developments in the first years of EMU. The model is used to analyse adjustments to two types of shocks - relative competitiveness shifts and demand disturbances. It is shown that the interaction between real exchange rate adjustment and real interest rate developments may contribute to periods of overheating and overcooling during which output might be for a number of years either above or below potential. Furthermore, the paper looks at the circumstances in which smooth adjustment to shocks can be expected and, on the other hand, when a cycle with greater amplitude is more likely. Finally, the paper examines policy options that could improve the functioning of EMU. The analysis provides another strong argument for pressing ahead with reforms that increase flexibility in labour and product markets and further integrate the economies of the euro area.