Even before the EMU process is complete in 2002, there are already initiatives being suggested to further integrate the European Union, both from an economic and political perspective. Many of these initiatives focus on harmonization of, for example, indirect taxes or corporate taxes in the...

Even before the EMU process is complete in 2002, there are already initiatives being suggested to further integrate the European Union, both from an economic and political perspective. Many of these initiatives focus on harmonization of, for example, indirect taxes or corporate taxes in the...

[From the introduction]. The synchronicity of cycles in real output is a subject that has attracted increased attention in the eld of economics, largely because not only is the international synchronicity of turning points of business cycles a "stylized fact", but also because within a monetary...

This paper attempts to assess how compatible China is with respect to its dollar-based exchange rate regime. Assessment is made in terms of the real convergence criteria suggested by the optimum currency areas (OCA) theory. In light of the endogenous problem in OCA analysis and this view of...

This paper presents various economic approaches to achieving monetary union, particularly in the context of European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) as envisaged in the 1991 Maastricht Treaty. It evaluates the implications of Maastricht, given the economic convergence criteria embodied in the...

Wavelet analysis, although used extensively in disciplines such as signal processing, engineering, medical sciences, physics and astronomy, has not fully entered the economics discipline yet. In this survey article, wavelet analysis is introduced in an intuitive manner, and the existing...

This paper uses several recent advances in time-varying spectral methods to analyse the growth cycles of the core of the euro area in terms of frequency content and phasing of cycles. There are two main findings. First that coherence and phasing between the three core members of the euro area...

Wavelet analysis, although used extensively in disciplines such as signal processing, engineering, medical sciences, physics and astronomy, has not yet fully entered the economics discipline. In this discussion paper, wavelet analysis is introduced in an intuitive manner, and the existing...