Discussion of Chapter 11

Abstract

Chapter 11 tackles an interesting and important question for the future of the euro and it summarises some of the central concepts and quantitative issues. But in the end it leaves many open questions. The main conclusions of the chapter amount to little more than an observation that the euro will be an important international currency and that its use will increase through time. This conclusion is almost certainly correct, but it is very limited. The main problem with the chapter is that it fails to use a clear theoretical framework. Such a framework (based on the Krugman, Chrystal or Rey models cited in the chapter) would have added clarity to the chapter’s existing conclusions while allowing the author to provide answers to (or at least to shed more light on) many additional questions.