Do the Euro Zone Countries Really Want Fewer Net Exports?

That's what readers of a NYT article on Latvia entering the euro would assume. The piece presented it as good news that the euro had risen against the dollar over the last year. This increase will make the goods and services produced by euro zone countries less competitive in the world economy, reducing their exports and increasing their imports. With nearly all of the euro zone countries operating at levels of output well below potential GDP, it is difficult to see why they would view this l...