Monetary union, employment and growth. The impact of the euro as a global currency

Book abstract:

Supporters of the euro hope that in time it will come to be a global currency as widely used and respected as the American Dollar. This book examines how such a scenario - the euro as a global currency as opposed to a regional currency - will affect European unemployment.

The first three chapters of the book focus on the euro as both a regional and global currency and on the EU's economic and monetary policies. The possible evolution of the single currency in relation to the dollar in international markets is examined as is the macroeconomic performance and policy of the European Union. There is also an analysis of the influence of US policy behaviour on the implementation of the EU's external policy and monetary, based on the past behaviour of the dollar / deutschmark relationship. Finally, the process of integration of the euro's financial markets is examined in the belief that the development of extensive and inter-related financial markets will lead to greater independence for European monetary policy

These initial chapters provide the background for the key discussion of the book - the relationship between the single currency and unemployment - which is begun in chapter four with a review of the debate about Europe's unemployment. The following chapters look at the European employment issue in more detail. Chapter five focuses on the macroeconomic aspects, chapter six discusses the role of the euro's exchange rate in supporting growth and chapter seven examines the role that international trade and competitiveness have to play in affecting Europe's performance and employment. The focus switches to the geography of Europe's employment in chapter eight with a discussion of the impact of regional specialisations on the functioning of EMU.

In chapter nine the emphasis moves away from employment towards the future enlargement of the EU and the benefit that could be made of using excess reserves, that will be freed up by the changeover to the euro, by helping the Central and Eastern European countries.

The final chapter offers some general conclusions, examining what is needed to tackle European unemployment also looking at other policy areas where measures are needed to complete the economic model and make the euro successful

This book offers an indepth discussion of two highly topical European issues - the single currency and unemployment - making it suitable for professional economists and post-graduate students in economics, international relations and European studies.

The editor, Pier Carlo Padoan, is Professor of Economics at the University of Rome and Director of Economic Studies at the College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium.