Monetary Policy at the European Periphery

The book proposes a monetary policy regime that is suitable for the European Periphery on the road to the euro. The first part examines the relation between the eleven founding members of the EMU and countries staying out of the EMU - paying particular attention to the European Periphery that includes Greece and all those CEE transition countries which have recently applied for EU membership. The second part of the book argues against ERM-II participation for those countries. It stresses the limits in efficiency of an ERM-II arrangement in a world of increased international capital movements, fiscal imbalances, and asymmetric real shocks. The third part offers a consistent and credible monetary framework for the achievement of price stability at the European Periphery: adoption of explicit and formal inflation targets together with political and economic independence of the central bank.