Currency

About: Currency is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 26697 publications have been published within this topic receiving 485370 citations. The topic is also known as: monetary unit & unit of money.

Economic preconditions for the Asian regional integration.

Abstract: Recent developments in Europe and North America suggest that the world is now under a tide of new regionalism. This paper asks whether conditions are favorable or unfavorable for regional economic integration in Asia. By referring to statistical indicators and applying by various statistical methods including a principal component analysis we reach the following tentative conclusion: Economic conditions for regional integration in Asia are at least as favorable as those in unifying Europe. Preconditions for a free trade area in Asia is satisfied. However since Asian countries depend heavily on trade with the United States and Japan a free trade area that hinders the trade with these countries would not be practical. Preconditions for a currency union in Asia are also met. In the case of a currency union however it is not clear whether Asian countries would be benefitted by linking their common currency to a major currency such as the dollar or the yen. (authors)

Specialisation and Convergence of European Regions

Abstract: The purpose of this paper was to analyze specialization and convergence of European countries and regions, within the framework of integration in the EU. This is important not only for long-term real convergence processes, but also for a proper functioning of the monetary union (in the line of research on the OCA's criteria, asymmetry of shocks and synchronization of business cycles). The position of new member states is particularly delicate, also considering the forthcoming adoption of the euro by some of them. As indicated by the EU Treaty, economic growth should be balanced with economic and social cohesion that includes a careful consideration of regional disparities. Our empirical investigation focuses on the regions of EU25, further broken up into other relevant groupings (EU15, EMU, and the new members' EU10 group), over the period from 1980 (or 1990 for EU10) to 2005. This paper considers a rather fine regional disaggregation (NUTS-2 level), counting 250 regions. The analysis of different indices of specialisation point to a prevalent increase of homogeneity of sector structures across European regions, although in some cases (especially in the industrial sector and in some services) specialisation has increased. For convergence, a sigma convergence's analysis confirms a reduction of disparities, both at a country and regional level. However, a trade-off between fast national growth and internal distribution has emerged in the early stages of development, as in the case of new members. Moreover, beta convergence has also been established - regarding per capita income, employment and productivity - for almost all territorial aggregates (excluding the new members since 1999). The addition of structural variables, following a beta-conditional approach, indicates a positive role for services and a negative impact of agriculture. Finally, some preliminary results have been obtained by the innovative inclusion of specialisation indices within convergence regressions. JEL Classification: R11, P52, O52 Keywords: regional economies, European regions, growth and convergence, specialisation 1. Introduction Europe has recently experienced wide ranging and in depth integration. Considering the deepening aspect, the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 1999 and the circulation of the new common currency - the euro - since 1.1.2002 are the most momentous achievements, although some dark clouds have appeared since the arrest of the ratification process of the new Constitutional Treaty. Concerning the widening process, the 2004 enlargement was the most conspicuous in the EU's history. The ten new members are now adequately integrated in the single market and some of them are almost ready to adopt the euro as well. The final goal of the EU2 - to be achieved through the common market and the economic and monetary union - also includes economic and social cohesion, both between members (as the mention of solidarity would indicate) and within themselves. This is testified by the weight given to regional policy3 and structural funds; and so regional convergence is an additional objective of EU. The links between the two concepts - economic and monetary union (EMU) and economic and social cohesion (in particular regional convergence) are two-ways. On one hand, the EMU may be an instrument to achieve economic and social cohesion (but what is the evidence of the integration process so far?). On the other hand, economic convergence is also a prerequisite to accomplish an effective EMU. Here, we do not refer to nominal convergence requirements (a la Maastricht), but rather to real convergence of European countries (and regions) as a condition to realize an advantageous EMU, as shown in the literature on optimum currency areas (OCA). We do not mean that real convergence - in per capita incomes, productivity, production and employment structures - is a prerequisite for the euro's adoption4, but rather that real convergence helps the effective working of EMU and raises net benefits of the union. …

Exploring the Underground Economy

Abstract: Tax evasion. Illegal drugs. Overseas holdings of U.S. currency. Crime. What these issues have in common is their contribution to the underground economy, that multi-billion dollar entity prospering unofficially outside the realm of the conventional economy. Individually, the six contributors to this volume each provide a detailed examination of specific segments of the underground economy including its participants, attempts at measurement, and policy responses. Taken together, the essays offer a thorough overview that emphasizes the importance and magnitude of one of the largest economies in the world.

Bailouts or Bail-ins? Responding to Financial Crises in Emerging Economies

Abstract: Roughly once a year, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, the US treasury secretary and in some cases the finance ministers of other G-7 countries will get a call from the finance minister of a large emerging market economy. The emerging market finance minister will indicate that the country is rapidly running out of foreign reserves, that it has lost access to international capital markets and, perhaps, that is has lost the confidence of its own citizens. Without a rescue loan, it will be forced to devalue its currency and default either on its government debt or on loans to the country's banks that the government has guaranteed. This book looks at these situations and the options available to alleviate the problem. It argues for a policy that recognizes that every crisis is different and that different cases need to be handled within a framework that provides consistency and predictability to borrowing countries as well as those who invest in their debt.

This Time is Different: A Panoramic View of Eight Centuries of Financial Crises

Abstract: This paper offers a "panoramic" analysis of the history of financial crises dating from England's fourteenth-century default to the current United States sub-prime financial crisis. Our study is based on a new dataset that spans all regions. It incorporates a number of important credit episodes seldom covered in the literature, including for example, defaults and restructurings in India and China. As the first paper employing this data, our aim is to illustrate some of the broad insights that can be gleaned from such a sweeping historical database. We find that serial default is a nearly universal phenomenon as countries struggle to transform themselves from emerging markets to advanced economies. Major default episodes are typically spaced some years (or decades) apart, creating an illusion that "this time is different" among policymakers and investors. A recent example of the "this time is different" syndrome is the false belief that domestic debt is a novel feature of the modern financial landscape. We also confirm that crises frequently emanate from the financial centers with transmission through interest rate shocks and commodity price collapses. Thus, the recent US sub-prime financial crisis is hardly unique. Our data also documents other crises that often accompany default: including inflation, exchange rate crashes, banking crises, and currency debasements.