CEEC Accession Countries and the EMU -
An Assessment of Relative and Readiness for Euro-Area Membership

Kozluk, Tomasz

doi:2005.20.3.439

The Journal of Economic Integration 2005 September;20(3) :439-474.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.11130/jei.2005.20.3.439

CEEC Accession Countries and the EMU - An Assessment of Relative and Readiness for Euro-Area Membership

Tomasz Kozluk,

European University Institute

ABSTRACT

Eastward enlargement of the Eurozone will result in transition economies sharing a currency with well-established market economies. We compare the suitability of the candidates relative to current members at a similar time before joining, as well as their readiness to comply with Maastricht criteria. Using fuzzy clustering and principal components, we assess patterns of convergence, possible inhomogeneities within the future Eurozone and create readiness and suitability indexes. We find the CEECs more suitable in terms of OCA criteria and more ready than some of the current members once were. Moreover, they are not found to follow distinct convergence paths.

JEL Classification

F33: International Monetary Arrangements and Institutions
F0: General
F15: Economic Integration
C6: Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling

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