European Monetary Union: nominal convergence, real divergence and slow growth?

It is now widely acknowledged that the structural characteristics of the countries to form the European Monetary Union (EMU) did not meet the conditions of an optimum currency area (OCA) when the euro was introduced in 1999. The OCA criteria appear to have little relevance for monetary integration, because they fail to capture the importance of macroeconomic policy institutions for growth and convergence across a currency union. This paper examines the effects of the EMU framework for monetary, fiscal and wage policies on overall growth and on convergence across the euro area. It is concluded that the years before and after the introduction of the euro were characterized by a restrictive policy mix that has not been conducive to aggregate growth nor to real convergence.