This book seeks to offer the first in-depth and systematic analysis of the challenges of the Euro Area and the eastward enlargement of the European Union. It focuses in particular on how the prolonged process of accession to the Euro Area is affecting domestic economic policies in the accession states of east central Europe. It contributes to Europeanization studies, comparative political economy and to studies of Economic and Monetary Union. It also provides a picture of processes of domestic transformation in such countries as the three Baltic States, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania. The book brings together a range of recognized experts from across Europe and combines country and sectoral case studies with a thematic treatment. It begins by offering an 'outside-in' perspective, which situates the effects of EMU on the accession states in the wider context of the development of global economic norms. The second part focuses on an 'inside-out' analysis of how Euro Area accession affects the states of east central Europe - their policies, politics and public institutions. The final part assesses how Euro Area accession is affecting key policy sectors in east central Europe: financial market regulation, fiscal policies and welfare states and labour markets.

Comprehensive 200-page overview of the ECB from its inception in June 1998 until the present day.

Established in 1983, the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) is the only European economics research network, linking over 550 academic researchers based in more than 20 countries. CEPR research addresses key European and global policy issues, ranging from global financial crises to international trade policy; from the economic transformation of Central and Eastern Europe to European competition policy. We are the market leaders for research on all aspects of European integration. CEPR research has consistently influenced policy by orienting researchers to address policy-relevant questions, and by encouraging key decision-makers to focus on the results of this research when discussing and formulating policy. The success of this approach has become increasingly apparent in recent years, as both practical examples and explicit acknowledgements from politicians, officials and journalists can testify. The Policy Paper series was launched by CEPR in 1999 to provide a forum for the analysis of important policy issues by leading researchers. The series aims to identify key policy issues; apply the best and most up-to-date research to help understand these issues; and to explore the implications of this research for the design and conduct of policy. Book jacket.

Increasingly, policies and laws commonly agreed within the EU shape the political and economic scenarios of nation states in Europe. However, the same European context is radically changing, essentially due to three major recent developments: the adoption of the Euro, EU enlargement to the east and the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy of structural reforms for growth and competitiveness. The book presents a thorough economic analysis of these three events and of their implications for both existing and potential EU policies and objectives. Carlo Altomonte and Mario Nava have written a very rigorous text in an accessible and jargon-free style, ensuring easy acquisition of invaluable insights into the European economic set-up and the possible evolution of EU policies, including an update on the reform of the Growth and Stability Pact and of the 2007 13 Financial Perspectives. The accessibility of economic concepts combined with the methodological rigour of this up-to-date text will be of great interest to both policy makers and students.

An examination of the debates on European Central Bank monetary policy, focusing on issues of transparency, credibility, and accountability and the effect of the ECB's decentralized structure. The adoption of the euro in 1999 by 11 member states of the European Union created a single currency area second in economic size only to the United States. The euro zone's monetary policy is now set by the European Central Bank (ECB) and its Governing Council rather than by individual national central banks. This CESifo volume examines issues that have arisen in the first years of ECB monetary policy and analyzes the effect that current ECB policy strategy and structures may have in the future. After a detailed description and assessment of ECB monetary policy making that focuses on such issues as price stability and the predictability of policy decisions, the book turns to two important issues faced by European central bankers: the transparency and credibility of decision making and the ECB's decentralized structure. After showing that transparency in decision making enhances credibility, the book discusses the ECB's efforts at openness, its political independence as guaranteed by law, and its ultimate accountability. The book then considers the effects of the decentralized ECB structure, focusing on business cycle synchronization, inflation differentials, and differences in monetary policy transmission in light of the enlargement of the monetary union. The book also discusses options for ECB institutional reforms, including centralization, vote weighting, and cross-border regional banks.

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.