The Politics of Economic and Monetary Union: Integration and Idiosyncrasy

The formation of an economic and monetary union among twelve of Europe's leading economies is the most exciting experiment in modern political economics. Can a single monetary policy satisfy the needs of twelve very different countries? Does the establishment of a European central bank herald the emergence of a new, more federal European Union? Will Europe's new single currency, the euro, come to rival the dollar for world leadership? Or will the euro collapse as conflicts between participating countries work to tear the European economic and monetary union apart? The Politics of Economic and Monetary Union offers surprising answers to these questions. By focusing attention on who wins and who loses from the creation of the euro, Erik Jones argues that the diversity of participating countries is a strength rather than a weakness, that Europe's single currency helps to maintain such diversity rather than to eliminate it, and that while the euro may never rival the dollar it is nevertheless unlikely to fall apart. As long as the politics of EMU differs from one country to the next, the monetary union is unlikely to face concerted or destabilizing opposition. Thus, the book concludes, EMU should be as difficult to dismantle as it was to create. This clearly written textbook provides a comprehensive exploration of the formation of an economic and monetary union among twelve of Europe's leading countries, the most exciting experiment in modern political economics. Erik Jones charts the embattled history of this extraordinarily project, explains the reasons it developed, and assesses how the controversies surrounding it may evolve in the future. Can a single monetary policy satisfy the needs of twelve very different countries? Does the establishment of a European central bank herald the emergence of a new, more federal European Union? Will Europe's new single currency, the euro, come to rival the dollar for world leadership? Or will the euro collapse as conflicts between participating countries work to tear the European economic and monetary union apart? The Politics of Economic and Monetary Union offers surprising answers to these questions. By focusing attention on who wins and who loses from the creation of the euro, Erik Jones argues that the diversity of participating countries is a strength rather than a weakness, that Europe's single currency helps to maintain such diversity rather that to eliminate it, and that while the euro may never rival the dollar it is nevertheless unlikely to fall apart.