Robert A. Mundell – författare

This book examines the implications of the creation of the euro, the single European currency unit, for the stability of the international monetary and exchange rate system. Will the euro be a strong or weak currency? Will the euro be a rival to the dollar system? How will the euro affect monetary co-operation between Europe and the United States? Is the inception of the euro likely to be an historic turning point in the international economic system? These and other central questions are addressed. Besides the economic implications of the euro, contributors also discusses the euro's political ramifications. This volume developed out of a conference held at the Luxembourg Institute for European and International Studies. Among the contributors are many of the best-known experts on international monetary theory and policy and international trade. This book contains revised versions of the papers first presented at the conference as well as the text of the conference proceedings, and is organized in five sections covering the following: the viability of the euro; management of the euro; the euro in the international economy; conference sessions; and a keynote session.

The introduction of the euro was an important event for the world economy and the international political system. For the first time in history, a substantial group of European countries-eleven of the fifteen members of the European Union including three members of the G-7-have voluntarily agreed to replace their national currencies with a single currency. The euro area has already become established as the second largest currency area in the world and will therefore become a major player in the international monetary system. The creation of the euro poses a number of interesting questions. Will the euro be a strong or a weak currency? Will the euro challenge the leading position hitherto held by the United States dollar and would sharing of the burdens and advantages of reserve currency status improve or worsen the stability of the international monetary system? How will the euro affect US relations with Europe? Does the formation of the euro intensify European integration in other fields? Is a bi-polar international monetary system viable? These and other issues motivated the Luxembourg Institute for European and International Studies and the Pierre Werner Foundation to organize an international conference in Luxembourg on December 3-4, 1998, on the eve of the birth of the euro. At the outset we were aware that the issue of the euro went far beyond pure economics. Money, after all, is too important a subject to be left to economists.

Under the direction of Nobel laureate Robert A. Mundell and Paul J. Zak, eminent contributors to Monetary Stability and Economic Growth offer a unique insight into the way that economists analyse the causes of money (mis) management in the US, Latin America, Europe and Japan, and prescribe stabilising reforms. Their lively discussion provides answers to various questions including: How does monetary stability affect economic growth?How can nations best achieve monetary stability?When is monetary union desirable?Which anchors for monetary stability are likely to be most effective?How will the euro affect financial markets and the international monetary system?Is international monetary reform possible, and how can it be achieved?The mechanisms that link monetary policy - including foreign exchange regimes and the international monetary system - to economic performance are examined, and the ways in which countries can stimulate economic growth are explored. This superb narrative volume, brought alive by the debate between leading economists, is contextualised by the editors' excellent introduction. It will be of immense interest to students, researchers and teachers of macroeconomics and financial economics as well as professional economists.