The EMU’s Twisted Foundations: How to Use and Misuse Economic Theory

Abstract

The creation of common European currency is the most ambitious institutional project of the European Union for decades. The idea of launching this kind of currency has merits. However, the implementation of this idea has already led to very negative consequences, as political considerations had priority over economic ones. The article shows how theoretical approaches to common currencies have been evolving since 1960s and why misuse of economic theory provokes inevitable collapse of the European monetary union.