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The six flaws of the Eurozone

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  • Charles Wyplosz

Abstract

SUMMARY When it was created, it was reasonable to think that the architecture of the monetary union was not perfect. It was also likely that the imperfections would lead to difficulties, possibly even crises. This article identifies six flaws, most of which had been identified even before the launch of the euro. It starts by pinpointing why the Eurozone, a bold and unprecedented experiment, is inherently fragile. It is not conducive to the convergence of national inflation rates, it is not an optimum currency area, and it is not a federal state. Taking these characteristics as given, the article argues that the Eurozone needs to address their implications. It observes that it has not been the case so far, hence the six flaws: fiscal discipline has not been achieved; the need for a Banking Union, which has finally been recognized and only partly implemented; the ECB is not a complete and fully independent central bank; some member countries need a sovereign debt relief; structural reforms are badly needed but intrusiveness cannot be the solution; the governance of the Eurozone is not designed for crisis management.

Suggested Citation

  • Charles Wyplosz, 2016. "The six flaws of the Eurozone," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 31(87), pages 559-606.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ecpoli:v:31:y:2016:i:87:p:559-606.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/epolic/eiw008
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    Cited by:

    1. Nauro F. Campos & Jarko Fidrmuc & Iikka Korhonen, 2017. "Business Cycle Synchronisation in a Currency Union: Taking Stock of the Evidence," GRU Working Paper Series GRU_2017_017, City University of Hong Kong, Department of Economics and Finance, Global Research Unit.
    2. Koetter, Michael & Krause, Thomas & Tonzer, Lena, 2019. "Delay determinants of European Banking Union implementation," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1-20.
    3. Hartmann, Philipp & Smets, Frank, 2018. "The first twenty years of the European Central Bank: monetary policy," Working Paper Series 2219, European Central Bank.
    4. Francesco Spadafora, 2020. "Completing the Economic and Monetary Union: Wisdom Come Late?," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 6(3), pages 379-409, November.
    5. Francesco Spadafora, 2019. "European integration in the time of mistrust," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 512, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    6. Alessandra Cepparulo & Paolo Pasimeni, 2024. "Defence Spending in the European Union," European Economy - Discussion Papers 199, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    7. Jan Philipp Fritsche & Patrick Christian Harms, 2020. "Better off without the Euro? A Structural VAR Assessment of European Monetary Policy," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1907, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    8. Zhorayev, Olzhas, 2020. "The Eurozone Debt Crisis: Causes and Policy Recommendations," MPRA Paper 106331, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Alogoskoufis, George & Gravas, Konstantinos & Jacque, Laurent, 2023. "Asymmetries in post-war monetary arrangements in Europe: From Bretton Woods to the Euro Area," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    10. Czerniak, Adam & Borowski, Jakub & Boratyński, Jakub & Rosati, Dariusz, 2020. "Asset price bubbles in a monetary union: Mind the convergence gap," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 288-302.
    11. Paolo Pasimeni & Stéphanie Riso, 2019. "Redistribution and stabilisation through the EU budget," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 36(1), pages 111-138, April.

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