2.eu+single+currency+ 世界经济课件.pptVIP

Optimum Currency Areas and the European Experience Chapter Organization How the European Single Currency Evolved The Euro and Economic Policy in the Euro Zone The Theory of Optimum Currency Areas The Future of EMU Summary Introduction European Union countries have progressively narrowed the fluctuations of their currencies against each other. This culminated in the birth of the euro on January 1, 1999. This chapter focuses on the following questions: How and why did Europe set up its single currency? Will the euro be good for the economies of its members? How will the euro affect countries outside of the European Monetary Union (EMU)? What lessons does the European experience carry for other potential currency blocks? Introduction How the European Single Currency Evolved European Currency Reform Initiatives, 1969-1978 The Werner report (1969) It set out a blueprint for the stage-by-stage realization of Economic and Monetary Union by proposing a three-phase program to: Eliminate intra-European exchange rate movements Centralize EU monetary policy decisions Lower remaining trade barriers within Europe Two major reasons for adopting the Euro: To enhance Europe’s role in the world monetary system To turn the European Union into a truly unified market The European Monetary System, 1979-1998 Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, France, Italy, and Britain participated in an informal joint float against the dollar known as the “snake.” Most exchange rates could fluctuate up or down by as much as 2.25% relative to an assigned par value. The snake served as a prologue to the more comprehensive European Monetary System (EMS). Eight original participants in the EMS’s exchange rate mechanism began operating a formal network of mutually pegged exchange rates in March 1979. Capital controls and frequent realignments were essential ingredients in maintaining the system until the mid-1980s. After the mid-1980s, these controls have been abolished as part of the EU’s wide