Establishing a Central Bank

This book looks at the European Community's progress towards economic and monetary union, and in particular the issues involved in the creation of a European Central Bank and the lessons that may be learned from the US experience.

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Previous efforts to create a European Central Bank (ECB) have stimulated debate on topics for research into the political economy of the European Community's institutions. These include the exact division of responsibilities of national governments and the ECB - especially concerning exchange rate policy; the need for and design of constraints on national fiscal policies; and the nature of the transition from adjustable parities and national monetary policies to irrevocably fixed parities and a single European monetary policy. The book also considers the implications of EMU for the international monetary system - for the use of the ECU as a reserve currency and for policy coordination among the G-7 countries. The volume thus provides a comprehensive examination of the issues that will be decisive for Europe in its choice of monetary institutions.