Monetary and Fiscal Policies in EMU : Interactions and Coordination

Leading scholars and policy makers examine the challenges that are facing economic policies in the EMU today. Blending theoretical and policy analyses, this comprehensive study is both rigorous in its economic analysis and highly relevant to the policy agendas of all industrialised countries.

Europe''s Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) is unlike any other case of monetary unification in history. Here, sovereign countries retain a large degree of fiscal autonomy while monetary policy is centralised and entrusted to an independent central bank - the European Central Bank - with a clear mandate to preserve price stability. By bringing together leading scholars and policy makers this comprehensive book examines and reviews the challenges that are facing economic policies in the EMU today. Blending theoretical and policy analyses, the chapters explore and examine the co-ordination of macroeconomic policies to EMU''s fiscal policy rules in view of EU enlargement; the interplay between supply side reforms and stabilisation policy; the empirics of monetary and fiscal behaviour; policy making under uncertainty and the international dimension of policy spillovers. This fascinating book contributes to a deeper understanding of policy interactions in EMU, opening up new avenues for economic research and policy analysis.