Is there a “triffin dilemma†for the EMS?

The question explored in this paper is whether the EMS can continue to perform efficiently and ensure low inflation in an economically and financially integrated area with a high degree of currency substitution. A dilemma may arise: on the one hand, currency substitution should be accommodated to provide market participants with the currency they desire; on the other, currency substitution should not determine an excess of liquidity in the system leading to inflation. These objectives might be difficult to reconcile in a system with decentralized asymmetric monetary policy cooperation such as the EMS and might have adverse consequences for the monetary stability of the system. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 1993