Research Details

Abstract

Entering a currency union without any political union European countries have taken a gamble: will the needs of the currency union force a political integration (as anticipated by Monnet) or will the tensions create a backlash, as suggested by Kaldor, Friedman and many others? We try to answer this question by analyzing the cross sectional and time series variation in pro-European sentiments in the EU 15 countries. The 1992 Maastricht Treaty seems to have reduced the pro-Europe sentiment as does the 2010 Eurozone crisis. Yet, in spite of the worst recession in recent history, the Europeans still support the common currency. Europe seems trapped: there is no desire to go backward, no interest in going forward, but it is economically unsustainable to stay still.

Type

Article

Author(s)

Paola Sapienza, Luigi Guiso, Luigi Zingales

Date Published

2016

Citations

Sapienza, Paola, Luigi Guiso, and Luigi Zingales. 2016. Monnet's Error. Economic Policy.(86): 247-297.