Fiscal Aspects of European
Monetary Integration
Edited by Andrew Hughes
Hallett, Michael M. Hutchison, Svend E. Hougaard Jensen
October 1999 | Hardback | 362
pages 16 tables 20 figures |
In stock
Monetary union in Europe
started in 1999. The fiscal policy implications are, in many ways, more complex than the
monetary issues, yet very little has been written on them. This book contains eleven
papers and three review essays, which analyse a spectrum of empirical, theoretical,
institutional and political aspects of the design and impact of fiscal policy in EMU. The
contributors are some of the most experienced analysts in the field. Topics covered
include the need for and consequences of fiscal coordination, constraints on national
deficits and debt levels (the Stability Pact), and the role of fiscal federalism and
insurance. The importance of coordinating fiscal and monetary policies is also considered
in depth. As long as these strategic and institutional aspects remain imperfectly
understood, EMU will not be able to function to its full advantage and may suffer periods
of instability or weakness.
Contributors
Andrew Hughes Hallett,
Michael M. Hutchison, Svend E. Hougaard Jensen, Niels Thygesen, Thomas F. Willett, Torben
M. Andersen, Robert Dogonowski, Kenneth M. Kletzer, Neil Rankin, Michael Artis, Bernhard
Winkler, Roel M. W. J. Beetsma, Peter McAdam, Clas Wihlborg, Michael Bergman, Christopher
Allsopp, Warwick McKibben, David Vines, Giancarlo Corsetti, Paolo Pesenti, Paul De Grauwe
Contents
1. Fiscal aspects of European
monetary integration: an introduction Andrew Hughes Hallett, Michael M. Hutchison and
Svend E. Hougaard Jensen; Part I. Institutions and Political Economy: 2. Institutions and
fiscal policy in EMU Niels Thygesen; 3. A political economy analysis of the Maastricht and
Stability Pact fiscal criteria Thomas F. Willett; Part II. Automatic Stabilizers in a
Monetary Union: 4. Budgetary norms and EMU Torben M. Andersen and Robert Dogonowski; 5.
Regional adjustment and the welfare economics of monetary unification: what are the
benefits of exchange rate flexibility and fiscal insurance? Kenneth M. Kletzer; 6. Nominal
stability, real convergence, and fiscal transfers in a monetary union Svend E. Hougaard
Jensen; Discussion: Automatic Stabilizers and Fiscal Transfers Neil Rankin; Part III. The
Stability and Growth: Pact 7. The Stability Pact: Trading-off Flexibility for Credibility?
Michael Artis and Bernhard Winkler; 8. The stability and growth pact in a model with
politically-induced deficit biases Roel M. W. J. Beetsma; 9. Implications of the Growth
and Stability Pact: why the growth element is important Andrew Hughes Hallett and Peter
McAdam; Discussion: the Stability Pact and Fiscal Policy Clas Wihlborg; Part IV.
Asymmetric Business Cycles and Fiscal Linkages in Europe: 10. Costs of EMU and economic
convergence Michael Bergman and Michael M. Hutchison; 11. Fiscal consolidation in Europe:
some empirical issues Christopher Allsopp, Warwick McKibben and David Vines; 12. Could the
ins hurt the outs? a welfare analysis of International Financial Fiscal Links Giancarlo
Corsetti and Paolo Pesenti; Discussion: insiders and outsiders in EMU Paul De Grauwe.