One Currency, Two Europes: Towards A Dual Eurozone

The aftermath of the US subprime mortgage crisis in 2008 saw its influence spread around the world, including Europe. The European crisis turned out to be longer, deeper and more resilient than anticipated. An unexpected consequence was the increasingly divergent economic and financial situation of two main groups of countries within the Eurozone, which includes the countries that adopt the euro as their common currency. The divergence was caused by a number of factors, fundamentally stemming from the dissimilar economic and financial situation of its member countries and from the incomplete institutional architecture and the monetary and fiscal policies in the Eurozone.

One Currency, Two Europes: Towards a Dual Eurozone seeks to explore these factors which give rise to the Eurozone's asymmetric composition and the growing difficulties and ineffectiveness that policies meet. It presents evidence to show how the presently incomplete institutional architecture of the Eurozone is the main reason for the extreme detrimental effects of the international crisis and austerity policies, along with the asymmetric economic situation and the insufficient mutual trust demonstrated by the vulnerable as well as resilient countries.

Other than presenting a complete overview and analysis of the events that unfolded in the Eurozone as a result of the financial crisis that first emerged in the US, this book also suggests possible solutions which could help to reunify the Eurozone, and make the common currency sustainable and beneficial for all member countries. One Currency, Two Europes will be useful for policymakers who want to learn from the Eurozone's experience with the financial crisis and the importance of complete institutional architectures and inter-country economic convergence. It will also serve as a reference to students and researchers who would like more in-depth analysis of the crisis and the Eurozone's fiscal, monetary and institutional past, present, and future.
Contents: AcronymsPreface and AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Prolegomena to the International CrisisThe Facts: The Crisis and the Eurozone:The World Economy and EuropeThe International Crisis and Its OriginFinancial Causes and Real Sources of the European CrisisInstitutions and Policies:The Internal Economic Asymmetry of the EurozoneConvergence and Divergence in the EurozoneThe Eurozone as a Quasi-Optimum Currency AreaA Detour on the Working of the EU: The Asymmetric and Incomplete Build-Up of the UnionOutcomes and Ways Out:Policies and Their FramesThe Crisis and the Incomplete Institutional ArchitectureInternal Contagion and the Eurozone EconomiesPolicies Under the Blow of the CrisisConclusions: An Uneasy MatchBibliographyIndex
Readership: Students, researchers and policymakers who are interested in learning more about the fundamental nature and recent developments in the Eurozone and the European Union and the ways that it can respond to its ongoing economic and political challenges.
Key Features:Provides both a complete overview and in-depth examination of the causes, evidence and features of the duality in the EurozoneOffers a novel approach to examining the need for internal convergence within the Eurozone through institutional and structural reforms and balanced policiesImportant contribution to ongoing research and policy debates on the European Union, particularly with the Eurozone's management of the recent financial crisesA useful introduction to the recent economic crisis in the Eurozone in 2015