Currency and Competitiveness in Europe

Edited by Klaus Liebscher, Governor, Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Josef Christl, Managing Director, Macro-Consult e. U., Peter Mooslechner, formerly Oesterreichische Nationalbank and Doris Ritzberger-Grünwald, Director, Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Austria

• Contents:PrefacePART I: HOW CURRENCY AND COMPETITIVENESS CONTRIBUTE TO GROWTH AND STABILITY1. Competitiveness Still has CurrencyKlaus Liebscher2. Financial Market Turbulence and Global Imbalances John Lipsky3. Are Global Imbalances a Problem? John Williamson4. Financial Globalization and Exchange Rate Arrangements Graciela Laura Kaminsky5. Exchange Rates from a Multilateral and South-East Asian PerspectiveHans GenbergPART II: UNDERSTANDING EXCHANGE RATES 6. Fundamentally Lost? On the Role of Fundamentals in Exchange Rate Economics in History and TheoryPeter Mooslechner7. Macroeconomic Fundamentals and the Exchange Rate Ronald MacDonald8. Understanding Exchange Rates: A Micro-based Perspective on the Importance of FundamentalsMartin D.D. Evans9. Real Exchange Rate Dynamics in Transition Economies: The Role of Investment in QualityJan Brůha and Jiří Podpiera10. The Impact of Exchange Rate Interventions and Communication Over the Medium Term Marcel Fratzscher11. Using the Microstructure Approach to Foreign Exchange Markets in a Central BankÁron Gereben12. How do Central Banks and FX Traders Interact?Antonio ScaliaPART III: UNDERSTANDING ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS13. Competitiveness in a Monetary UnionJosef Christl14. Real and Nominal Convergence: Policy Challenges in a Monetary UnionLorenzo Bini Smaghi15. Product Quality and International Competitiveness in the New Member States of the EUDeniz Igan16. Structural Aspects of CompetitivenessJulia Woerz17. Assessing the Sustainability of External Positions in New EU Member StatesEnrique Alberola and José María SerenaPART IV: POLICY CHALLENGES ON THE ROAD TO AND WITHIN MONETARY UNION 18. Preparing for the Euro – Perspectives from the Monetary Policy Strategy in CyprusAthanasios Orphanides19. Economic Challenges on the Path to the Euro – The Maltese ExperienceMichael C. Bonello20. Slovakia’s Road to the Euro – Lessons Learned and Challenges AheadIvan Šramko21. Euro Area Enlargement: Lessons and ChallengesServaas Deroose, Paul Kutos and Massimo SuardiIndex

'Competitiveness is a notoriously slippery concept. This volume, featuring a galaxy of economic stars, lends some much-needed precision to the term and the debate over its determinants.'