Europe: Government and Money

by Iain Begg

* The case for and against explicit coordination of fiscal and monetary policy in the EUWith notes and coins now in use in all 12 countries that make up the Euro-zone, the euro is now a fully-fledged currency. One of the questions about running European Monetary Union (EMU) is whether different strands of macroeconomic policy should be coordinated. And if some form of coordination is desirable, should it be explicit and formal or merely tacit? These questions will be central to the policy making process in the Euro-zone as EMU is consolidated. Although there are rules governing fiscal policy embodied in the Stability and Growth Pact, and the European Central Bank (ECB) has explained the rules it tried to follow in setting monetary policy, the policy mix that combines the two is much more vague. The essays in this work are written by policy-makers who have day-to-day responsibilities for key policy areas, practitioners and academics specializing in the analysis of EMU, including two of the leading architects of the current system.

172 pages, Paperback

First published December 17, 2002