The main aim of this paper is to empirically test the endogenous money hypothesis for the Eurozone. Based on data on loans to private sector, deposits, monetary aggregates, prices and GDP we use three empirical approaches to test the hypothesis: (i) moving correlation; (ii) Granger causality...

We propose a new and time-varying optimum currency area (OCA) index for the euro area in assessing the evolution of the OCA properties of the monetary union from an international business cycle perspective. It is derived from the relative importance of symmetric vs. asymmetric shocks that result...

In this paper we analyse the exchange rate pass-through (ERPT) in the euro area as a whole and for four euro area members - Germany, France, Italy and Spain. For that purpose we use Bayesian VARs with identfiication based on a combination of zero and sign restrictions. Our results emphasize that...

We study the cross-country dimension of financial cycles for six euro area countries using three different methodologies: principal component analysis, synchronicity and similarity measures and wavelet analysis. We find that equity prices and interest rates display synchronization across...