Convergence issues in the European Union

Book abstract:

Central to the European ideal is the question of convergence - if it is not achieved the authors of this work maintain 'the most ambitious political project in Europe since the French Revolution will have failed'.

The work is organised in three parts. Part I addresses 'Convergence between nations and regions in the EU: General issues'. It explores the progress to date, provides comparison of EMU states with non-EMU states within the EU, and questions whether or not the Structural Funds of the European Commission have made any difference. Part II deals with monetary and fiscal issues. Tax revenue structures, domestic interest rates and individual Member States' initiatives in domestic monetary policy are amongst the matters covered. Social and labour market problems are the substance of Part III which explores matters such as wage flexibility and labour market reform, and in the final chapter the economic rationale behind the 'Third Way' model of the labour market is explored.

The work will interest academics and researchers of European studies and economics.