Sovereign risk premia in several euro area countries have risen markedly since 2008, driving up credit spreads in the private sector as well. We propose a New Keynesian model of a two-region monetary union that accounts for this “sovereign risk channel.” The model is calibrated to the euro...

This paper applies the fiscal theory of price level determination to the case of a monetary union. A fiscal perspective suggests, first, that the focus of past studies on seigniorage, per se, may be misplaced. Second, a rise in the level of debt by one member government can raise the common...

While economic theory highlights the usefulness of flexible exchange rates in promoting adjustment in international relative prices, flexible exchange rates also can be a source of destabilizing shocks. We find that when countries joining the euro currency union abandoned their national exchange...