Monetary integration is a hot topic since the success of the euro. This book looks at the future prospects for the eurozone and at the potential for similar schemes in other parts of the world.

This title provides a comprehensive overview of the development and design of the European Monetary Union, as well as an intriguing discussion of its prospects for future enlargement.

The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in which some members of the European Union have joined, has prompted much discussion of monetary union. Most of this discussion has focused on the immediate issues, such as prospects for the Euro and the possibility of expanding the Euro-zone. This book stands back and considers the relevant theory or what lessons might be drawn from other unions that have been formed in the past as well as looking at EMU directly.

The Road to Monetary Union analyses in non-technical language the process leading to adoption of a common currency for the European Union. The monetary union process involved different issues at different times and the contemporary global background mattered. The Element explains why monetary union was attempted and failed in the 1970s, and why the process was restarted in 1979, accelerated after 1992 and completed for a core group of EU members in 1999. It analyzes connections between eurozone membership and Greece's sovereign debt crisis. It concludes with analysis of how the eurozone works today and with discussion of its prospects for the 2020s. The approach is primarily economic, while acknowledging the role of politics (timing) and history (path dependence). A theme is to challenge simplistic ideas (e.g. that the euro has failed) with fuller analysis of competing pressures to shape the nature of monetary union.

The introduction of a single European currency, the euro, will have major consequences for the international monetary system and hence for the economic environment in which Canada must function. This commentary explores some of the issues involved. It discusses the economics and politics of the euro, the features of the Maastricht Treaty and criteria for European Monetary Union membership, constraints on fiscal policy after monetary union, the need for fiscal controls, the independence of the central bank under the Treaty, political considerations and the exchange rate, the labour market and macroeconomic policy, post-monetary-union problems, fiscal expansion, post-union scenarios where the euro ranges from weak to strong, and international monetary arrangements. Finally, the implications of European monetary union for Canada are discussed.