A European Central Bank?: Perspectives on Monetary Unification after Ten Years of the EMS

Based on a conference held by the Italian Macroeconomic Policy Group and the Centre for Economic Policy Research, this study examines the issues raised by European monetary unification. An introduction describes recent developments and identifies the motivations for creating a European central bank. Theoretical papers analyze the interactions of capital controls, financial intermediation, and seigniorage in open economies, the optimal design of centralized banks of issue by sovereign countr...