The persistent divergence between services and goods inflation in the euro area points to a deficit in productivity growth in services activities. A relative worsening in services sector competition appeared to play a role from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s, with the sector having displayed...

This paper studies stabilisation policies in a multi-country currency union of small open economies. It abstracts from key factors favouring currency union formation, such as reduced transaction costs and enhanced credibility, which are exogenous to the factors studied here. Demand-side shocks...

This paper investigates the role of domestic and external factors in explaining business cycle and international trade developments in fifteen emerging market economies. Results from sign restricted VARs show that developments in real output, inflation, real exchange rates and international...