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.

This paper develops a DSGE model for an open economy and estimates it on euro area data using Bayesian estimation techniques. The model features nominal and real frictions, as well as financial frictions in the form of liquidity constrained households. The model incorporates active monetary and fiscal policy rules (for government consumption, investment, transfers and wage taxes) and can be used to analyse the effectiveness of stabilisation policies. To capture the unit root character of macroeconomic time-series we allow for stochastic trend in TFP, but instead of filtering data prior to estimation, we estimate the model in growth rates and stationary nominal ratios.

This book, edited by Paul R. Masson, Thomas Krueger, and Bart G. Turtelboom, contains the proceedings of the seminar held in Washington, D.C. on March 17-18, 1997, cosponsored by the IMF and Fondation Camille Gutt. Conference participants discussed implications of European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) on exchange and financial markets, and consequently on the activities of market participants and private and official institutions. The five main themes of the seminar were the characteristics of the euro and its potential role as an international currency; EMU and international policy coordination; EMU and the relationship between the IMF and its EMU members; lessons of European monetary integration for the international monetary system; and the transitioin to EMU.