PETER BACKE Economist, Central Bank of AustriaGONZALO CAPRIOLO State Undersecretary and Chief Economist, Ministry of Finance of SloveniaATTILA CSAJBÓK Deputy Head of the Monetary Analysis Division, Economics Department, Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary)CASPER G. DE VRIES Professor of Economics, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The NetherlandsJARKO FIDRMUC Economist, Central Bank of AustriaRAOUL LÄTTEMÄE Economist, Bank of EstoniaVLADMIR LAVRAC Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Economic Research, Ljubljana, SloveniaELISABETH LEDRUT Economist, Central Bank of The NetherlandsROMAN MATOUSEK Associate Lecturer, London Guildhall UniversityBRUNO MERLEVEDE Researcher, Faculty of Applied Economics, University of Antwerp, BelgiumJOSEPH PLASMANS Professor, Faculty of Applied Economics, University of Antwerp, BelgiumLUKASZ W. RAWDANOWICZ Economist, Center for Social and Economic Research, Warsaw, PolandMARTTI RANDVEER Head of Research Department, Bank of EstoniaURMAS SEPP formerly Head of Research Department at the Bank of Estonia from 1993 until his death in 2002ANITA TACI Economist, Chief Economist Office, European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, LondonPIETER W. VAN FOREST Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The NetherlandsCEZARY WÓJCIK Assistant Professor, University of Warsaw, Poland

• List of Tables List of Figures List of Abbreviations List of Contributors Preface Foreword PART I: GENERAL POLICY ISSUES FOR THE ACCESSION COUNTRIES Introduction - Monetary Integration of Central and East European Accession Countries: The Pros and Cons of Speedy versus more Gradual Strategies; P.Backé and C.Wójcik Is Accession to EMU More Justifiable ex post than ex ante ?; J.Fidrmuc Modelling Alternative Paths to EMU for the Accession Countries; L.Vinhas de Souza and E.Ledrut Macroeconomic Adjustment in EU Accession Countries: An Analysis Using a Small Macroeconomic Model; B.van Aarle, J.Plasmans and B.Merlevede Nominal and Real Forex Regimes and EMU Accession; P.van Foreest and C.G.de Vries PART II: COUNTRY-SPECIFIC MONETARY POLICY AND EXCHANGE RATE QUESTIONS IN THE RUN-UP TO MONETARY UNION Slovenia's Monetary and Exchange Rate Framework in the Run-up to ERM II; G.Capriolo and V.Lavrac Monetary Policy in Estonia: The Transmission Mechanism; U.Sepp, M.Randveer and R.Lättemäe Czech Monetary Policy on the Road to European (Monetary) Union; R.Matousek & A.Taci Poland's Accession to EMU - Choosing the Exchange Rate Parity; L.R.Rawdanowicz Monetary and Exchange Rate Strategies in Hungary on the Way to the Euro; A.Csajbók References Index

PETER BACKE Economist, Central Bank of AustriaGONZALO CAPRIOLO State Undersecretary and Chief Economist, Ministry of Finance of SloveniaATTILA CSAJBÓK Deputy Head of the Monetary Analysis Division, Economics Department, Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary)CASPER G. DE VRIES Professor of Economics, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The NetherlandsJARKO FIDRMUC Economist, Central Bank of AustriaRAOUL LÄTTEMÄE Economist, Bank of EstoniaVLADMIR LAVRAC Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Economic Research, Ljubljana, SloveniaELISABETH LEDRUT Economist, Central Bank of The NetherlandsROMAN MATOUSEK Associate Lecturer, London Guildhall UniversityBRUNO MERLEVEDE Researcher, Faculty of Applied Economics, University of Antwerp, BelgiumJOSEPH PLASMANS Professor, Faculty of Applied Economics, University of Antwerp, BelgiumLUKASZ W. RAWDANOWICZ Economist, Center for Social and Economic Research, Warsaw, PolandMARTTI RANDVEER Head of Research Department, Bank of EstoniaURMAS SEPP formerly Head of Research Department at the Bank of Estonia from 1993 until his death in 2002ANITA TACI Economist, Chief Economist Office, European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, LondonPIETER W. VAN FOREST Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The NetherlandsCEZARY WÓJCIK Assistant Professor, University of Warsaw, Poland

• List of Tables List of Figures List of Abbreviations List of Contributors Preface Foreword PART I: GENERAL POLICY ISSUES FOR THE ACCESSION COUNTRIES Introduction - Monetary Integration of Central and East European Accession Countries: The Pros and Cons of Speedy versus more Gradual Strategies; P.Backé and C.Wójcik Is Accession to EMU More Justifiable ex post than ex ante ?; J.Fidrmuc Modelling Alternative Paths to EMU for the Accession Countries; L.Vinhas de Souza and E.Ledrut Macroeconomic Adjustment in EU Accession Countries: An Analysis Using a Small Macroeconomic Model; B.van Aarle, J.Plasmans and B.Merlevede Nominal and Real Forex Regimes and EMU Accession; P.van Foreest and C.G.de Vries PART II: COUNTRY-SPECIFIC MONETARY POLICY AND EXCHANGE RATE QUESTIONS IN THE RUN-UP TO MONETARY UNION Slovenia's Monetary and Exchange Rate Framework in the Run-up to ERM II; G.Capriolo and V.Lavrac Monetary Policy in Estonia: The Transmission Mechanism; U.Sepp, M.Randveer and R.Lättemäe Czech Monetary Policy on the Road to European (Monetary) Union; R.Matousek & A.Taci Poland's Accession to EMU - Choosing the Exchange Rate Parity; L.R.Rawdanowicz Monetary and Exchange Rate Strategies in Hungary on the Way to the Euro; A.Csajbók References Index

PETER BACKE Economist, Central Bank of AustriaGONZALO CAPRIOLO State Undersecretary and Chief Economist, Ministry of Finance of SloveniaATTILA CSAJBÓK Deputy Head of the Monetary Analysis Division, Economics Department, Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary)CASPER G. DE VRIES Professor of Economics, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The NetherlandsJARKO FIDRMUC Economist, Central Bank of AustriaRAOUL LÄTTEMÄE Economist, Bank of EstoniaVLADMIR LAVRAC Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Economic Research, Ljubljana, SloveniaELISABETH LEDRUT Economist, Central Bank of The NetherlandsROMAN MATOUSEK Associate Lecturer, London Guildhall UniversityBRUNO MERLEVEDE Researcher, Faculty of Applied Economics, University of Antwerp, BelgiumJOSEPH PLASMANS Professor, Faculty of Applied Economics, University of Antwerp, BelgiumLUKASZ W. RAWDANOWICZ Economist, Center for Social and Economic Research, Warsaw, PolandMARTTI RANDVEER Head of Research Department, Bank of EstoniaURMAS SEPP formerly Head of Research Department at the Bank of Estonia from 1993 until his death in 2002ANITA TACI Economist, Chief Economist Office, European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, LondonPIETER W. VAN FOREST Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The NetherlandsCEZARY WÓJCIK Assistant Professor, University of Warsaw, Poland

• List of Tables List of Figures List of Abbreviations List of Contributors Preface Foreword PART I: GENERAL POLICY ISSUES FOR THE ACCESSION COUNTRIES Introduction - Monetary Integration of Central and East European Accession Countries: The Pros and Cons of Speedy versus more Gradual Strategies; P.Backé and C.Wójcik Is Accession to EMU More Justifiable ex post than ex ante ?; J.Fidrmuc Modelling Alternative Paths to EMU for the Accession Countries; L.Vinhas de Souza and E.Ledrut Macroeconomic Adjustment in EU Accession Countries: An Analysis Using a Small Macroeconomic Model; B.van Aarle, J.Plasmans and B.Merlevede Nominal and Real Forex Regimes and EMU Accession; P.van Foreest and C.G.de Vries PART II: COUNTRY-SPECIFIC MONETARY POLICY AND EXCHANGE RATE QUESTIONS IN THE RUN-UP TO MONETARY UNION Slovenia's Monetary and Exchange Rate Framework in the Run-up to ERM II; G.Capriolo and V.Lavrac Monetary Policy in Estonia: The Transmission Mechanism; U.Sepp, M.Randveer and R.Lättemäe Czech Monetary Policy on the Road to European (Monetary) Union; R.Matousek & A.Taci Poland's Accession to EMU - Choosing the Exchange Rate Parity; L.R.Rawdanowicz Monetary and Exchange Rate Strategies in Hungary on the Way to the Euro; A.Csajbók References Index