Does Europe's path to monetary union provide lessons for East Asia?

In 1999, eleven European countries adopted the euro as their common currency (Greece followed in 2001). This followed a long period of gradually tying their national currencies together more tightly by limiting exchange rate fluctuations among member countries, culminating in the European Monetary Union (EMU). The experience of Europe has raised the question as to whether countries in other regions of the world can and should follow a similar path towards adopting a common currency. ; East Asia, with some of the most dynamically growing economies in the world, has long been considered a possible candidate for a regional monetary union. This Economic Letter addresses three questions that help frame the issue. First, is it desirable for East Asia to adopt a common currency like the euro? Second, does Europe's experience provide any lessons for East Asia about how to attain a common currency? Third, how does the economic integration path that East Asia is now following differ from the path Europe followed?