Regional Monetary Integration [Paperback]

This book surveys the prospects for regional monetary integration in various parts of the world.This book seeks to explain why governments contemplate regional monetary integration and why some country groups are more likely than others to exercise that option. It also explains why some country groups may be more successful than others, and the potential relevance of the European experience for those other country groups. The book is not written for professional economists, though it synthesizes a large body of economic literature. It is written for a wider audience, including policy makers and students of international relations.This book seeks to explain why governments contemplate regional monetary integration and why some country groups are more likely than others to exercise that option. It also explains why some country groups may be more successful than others, and the potential relevance of the European experience for those other country groups. The book is not written for professional economists, though it synthesizes a large body of economic literature. It is written for a wider audience, including policy makers and students of international relations.This book surveys the prospects for regional monetary integration in various parts of the world. Beginning with a brief review of the theory of optimal currency areas, it goes on to examine the structure and functioning of the European Monetary Union, then turns to the prospects for monetary integration elsewhere in the world  North America, South America, and East Asia. Such cooperation may take the form of full-fledged monetary unions or looser forms of monetary cooperation. The book emphasizes the economic and institutional requirements for successful monetary integration, including the need for a single central bank in the case of a full-fledged monetary union and the corresponding need for multinational institutions to safeguard the banks independence and assure its accountability. The book concludes wlw