Essay from the year 2005 in the subject Business economics - Economic Policy, grade: 1,2, Arnhem Business School (Arnhem Business School), course: International Economics, language: English, abstract: Since the beginning of the idea of the European Monetary Union (EMU), UK had a negative attitude towards a single monetary policy with a single currency. This antipathy was amplified on the one hand by the withdrawal of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992 caused by different economic policies, oil price rises and German unification and on the other hand by the launch of the EMU in 1999. In fact the UK government starts to work towards cooperation with the EMU by setting specific goals. But before taking further steps, the criteria of the Maastricht Treaty have to be fulfilled and the five economic tests assessed by the UK government have to be passed. Since 1997 the UK has made real progress towards meeting the five economic tests. Although there are arguments that in a long term the payback of joining EMU offset the costs, the benefits are too low and the costs too high at the moment. The idea of one currency in Europe has been around for many years. But according to Pitchford the true launching of the EMU process dates from the Werner Committee which was set up in 1970 and submitted its final report, called 'the Werner Report', in February 1971. The first major step for the implementation of the Werner plan was the European 'currency snake' in 1972. Through this arrangement the fluctuations between participants' exchange rates should be limited to ± 2.25%. However, this process was not effective because of the collapse of the Bretton-Woods regime which determined a fixed exchange rate in terms of gold. The UK joined the snake system just for one month. A further step was the creation of the European Monetary System (EMS) in 1979. The main objective of this system was to create monetary stability in Europe. This should be realized by the fixed rates between t

Essay from the year 2005 in the subject Business economics - Economic Policy, grade: 1,2, Arnhem Business School (Arnhem Business School), course: International Economics, language: English, abstract: Since the beginning of the idea of the European Monetary Union (EMU), UK had a negative attitude towards a single monetary policy with a single currency. This antipathy was amplified on the one hand by the withdrawal of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992 caused by different economic policies, oil price rises and German unification and on the other hand by the launch of the EMU in 1999. In fact the UK government starts to work towards cooperation with the EMU by setting specific goals. But before taking further steps, the criteria of the Maastricht Treaty have to be fulfilled and the five economic tests assessed by the UK government have to be passed. Since 1997 the UK has made real progress towards meeting the five economic tests. Although there are arguments that in a long term the payback of joining EMU offset the costs, the benefits are too low and the costs too high at the moment. The idea of one currency in Europe has been around for many years. But according to Pitchford the true launching of the EMU process dates from the Werner Committee which was set up in 1970 and submitted its final report, called 'the Werner Report', in February 1971. The first major step for the implementation of the Werner plan was the European 'currency snake' in 1972. Through this arrangement the fluctuations between participants' exchange rates should be limited to ± 2.25%. However, this process was not effective because of the collapse of the Bretton-Woods regime which determined a fixed exchange rate in terms of gold. The UK joined the snake system just for one month. A further step was the creation of the European Monetary System (EMS) in 1979. The main objective of this system was to create monetary stability in Europe. This should be realized by the fixed rates between the currencies of the participating countries which where settled on their value against the European Currency Unit (ECU4). The UK did not join in the EMS and was still remote at the time of Delors Report in 1989.

Seminar paper from the year 2001 in the subject Business economics - Miscellaneous, grade: 1.7 (A-), Oxford Brookes University (School of Business), course: Business Environment UK, language: English, abstract: Background of EMU and current situation of the UK Since 1952 when the European Coal and Steel Community was founded the face of Europe has changed a lot. Barriers have been removed to enable goods, services, investment and people to move freely within the Community and politicians worked hard to get closer to the ideal of a political and economical united Europe. In two months the next major step will be taken by 12 nations of the European Union: The EURO will replace the old currencies. But Britain, although a member of the European Union, will not participate in Euro-zone in the foreseeable future. In 1991 the Maastricht Treaty (Treaty on European Union) was signed in order to extend the Treaty of Rome (1957). One part of this Treaty was the formation of an economic and monetary union (EMU). Therefore the European Central Bank (ECB) was established and a new currency - the ECU, today called Euro. The ECB shall replace the national central banks and its "primary objective is to maintain a low and stable rate of price inflation for the euro currency." 1) Although Britain had joined the exchange rate system (ERS), the so called "parity grid" of the European Monetary System (EMS) in 1990 and had also signed the Maastricht Treaty it was forced to leave the EMS on Wednesday, 16 September 1992, known as "Black Wednesday". Sterling had dropped below the "floor" of the grid and all measures to support the currency failed. The UK gained opt-outs from stage 3 of EMU during the Maastricht conference, which means: "UK shall notify the council whether it intends to move to the third stage, and that unless it does, it will be under no obligation to do so." 2) Now, as the EMU comes closer the subject presses hard on the Blair-government but a date for the planned referendum, which shall bring a decision, is still not stated. [...]

Seminar paper from the year 2001 in the subject Business economics - Economic Policy, grade: 2.0 (B), Oxford Brookes University (School of Business), course: Module 7544, 16 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: On January 1st 1999 the Euro ( ) became the official currency in the participating countries inside the European Union. France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Italia, Ireland, Finland and Greece introduced this currency as the new single currency, while the national currency is still valid and in use, as the Euro is not yet available in coins and notes. Though the exchange rates between the currencies were irrevocably fixed. In less than two months, on January 1st 2002, the Euro will be introduced, and from that day on the Euro notes and coins are in use. Despite of many advantages, that′ll be explained later in this coursework, a few countries of the EU did not join the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and have not introduced the Euro. Sweden, Denmark and Great Britain refused to take part in the EMU and preferred to sustain their own currencies. This coursework faces the question whether the UK should join the EMU. I will analyse the advantages and the disadvantages of the EMU for UK′s economic and business environment.

Placed in the context of the upcoming referendum, this second edition brings up to date a thorough review of all economic aspects of the UK's membership of the EU. It notes the intention of the EU to move to 'ever closer union' and the nature of the regulatory and general economic philosophy of its dominant members, whose position is enforced by qualified majority voting. The book highlights the UK’s dilemma that, while extending free markets to its local region is attractive, this European philosophy and closer union are substantially at odds with the UK's traditions of free markets and freedom under the common law. This comprehensive examination of the economic costs and benefits of membership uses state-of-the-art modeling methods and includes estimates of its net costs as a percentage of GDP. The book explains how the decision to leave would follow from a judgement on the political economy of the EU as compared with that of the UK. It details the misconceptions involved in much of the debate about trade with the EU, and argues that the key issue is not access to markets but rather the prices at which trade takes place. Covered in careful detail is the economics of the UK’s trade with the EU in the key sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, and services.

Her Majesty's Treasury is due to report in June 2003 on the economic case for the UK adopting the Euro. One criterion concerns the extent of economic convergence between the UK and the European Union countries. Differences in financial, credit and housing institutions between countries present one important subset of constraints to sustained convergence (Maclennan et al, 1998) - largely neglected in the economic literature on common currency areas. These types of differences create tension within the Eurozone. Empirical evidence supporting these concerns has emerged in signs of overheating in the Netherlands, UK and some of the fringe economies, and in the relative stagnation of Germany and Italy. The UK's buoyancy, however, is accompanied by serious economic imbalances, with consequent risks of instability. These would be exacerbated should the UK be prematurely locked into an exchange rate and interest rate regime unresponsive to domestic conditions. There is much to learn from European experience: from Germany and Italy, on the consequences of illiberal economic structures; from The Netherlands, on some of the risks of liberal credit markets; and from Denmark, with a liberal credit market but rational property taxation. In this paper, John Muellbauer argues that convergence does not have to be fully achieved, if there is a counterbalancing policy instrument to mitigate some of the effects of these slow-to-dissipate differences. Specifically in the UK, a reformed system of property taxation would contribute greatly to long-term stability and the preservation of economic balance.

Seminar paper from the year 2001 in the subject Economics - Monetary theory and policy, grade: 2,0 (B), Oxford Brookes University (Business School), course: Business Environment of the UK, language: English, abstract: HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION OF THE EMU With the Maastricht Treaty the EC heads of state and government agreed on a three-legged "European Union" (EU) on December 9 and 10, 1991, which should include a common foreign and security policy, cooperation on domestic and security policy and the creation of a European Economic and Monetary Union (EEMU). The European Monetary Union (EMU) is to be effected according to a concrete time schedule - the three-stage plan which was agreed upon in the Maastricht Treaty and the conversion plan which was decided December 1995. To ensure the stability of a single currency, especially in the initial phase, the states participating in the EMU must satisfy the following convergence criteria as constituted in the Maastricht treaty: 1. Inflation criteria: Price stability with no more than 1.5 percentage points above the inflation rate of the top three member states. [...]

This paper evaluates the role of trade and financial linkages in the decision to enter a monetary union. We estimate a two-country DSGE model for the U.K. economy and the euro area, and use the model to compute the welfare trade-offs from joining the euro. We evaluate two alternative scenarios. In the first one, we consider a reduction of trade costs that occurs after the adoption of a common currency. In the second, we introduce interest rate spread shocks of the same magnitude as the ones observed during the recent debt crisis in Europe. The reduction of trade costs generates a net welfare gain of 0.9 percent of life-time consumption, while the increased interest rate spread volatility generates a net welfare cost of 2.9 percentage points. The welfare calculation suggests two ways to preserve the welfare gains in a monetary union: ensuring fiscal and financial stability that reduces macroeconomic country risk, and increasing wage flexibility such that the economy adjusts to external shocks faster.

This title was first published in 2000: An analysis of the extent to which the outcomes of the process of European monetary integration and, particularly, of the development of the debate over the establishment of EMU, have been influenced by domestic politics and by domestic economic interest groups in Italy and in the United Kingdom. From an empirical point of view, the work provides an account of the development of Italian and British socio-economic interest groups towards the issue of European monetary union from the making of the EMS until the establishment of EMU.