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...

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...

Institutional variables are the most important factor explaining real convergence. But what are institutions? This paper examines the relationship between institutions and policies, institutions and organisations, and formal and informal institutions. The concept of propelling and stabilizing...