This paper attempts to assess the degree to which CEE candidate countries fulfill Optimal Currency Area criteria set out in the literature. The literature review provided focuses on the seminal contributions of Mundell (1961) and McKinnon (1963) and later evolution of the theory as well as...

The paper first considers why central European countries wish to join EMU soon. The main reasons are the risk of macroeconomic instability they face outside the euro zone if they wish to grow quickly. At the same time, Central Europe is highly integrated as regards trade with EMU, so it is...

This paper reports the progress of nominal and real convergence of Spain, Portugal and Greece during their accession to the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). When the EMU was designed, it was hoped that it would induce nominal convergence (convergence of interest rates and inflation rates) and...

In the past ten years all transition economies have adopted modern bankruptcy legislation as part of their institution building efforts. But their approach to insolvency and their determination to use the insolvency process as a selection mechanism have varied widely. The aim of the paper is two...

This paper analyses the link between forthcoming EU enlargement and selected aspects of EU institutional reforms, namely decision making rules in the European Central Bank and the status of the Eurogroup. It argues that some earlier arguments calling for urgent ECB reform are based on...

The development of market economies in Central and Eastern Europe, and the imminent accession of some of these countries to EU membership, has only strengthened the view that corporate governance is of fundamental importance to the process of transition and to the economic regeneration and...

Do Acceding Countries Need Higher Fiscal Deficits?

This paper discusses the processes of nominal and real convergence and their dependence on exchange rate regimes adopted in Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) in the context of their future EMU accession. We focus our argument on the possibility of trade-off between the pace of...

The paper deals with the choice of the nominal euro conversion rates for the acceding countries upon their accession to EMU. The paper reviews theoretical models of equilibrium exchange rates as well as discusses their interpretation and the ensuing policy recommendations. Problems with...

Iraq faces structural reforms designed to effect transition from opaque administrative structures to competitive markets. The process has already begun with a series of measures announced by the Coalition Provisional Authority for Iraq. The paper provides arguments in favor of establishing...