This contribution discusses the two main asymmetries of European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) as they developed over the past two decades since the launch of the Single Currency. From the... Show moreThis contribution discusses the two main asymmetries of European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) as they developed over the past two decades since the launch of the Single Currency. From the outset, EMU involved asymmetric degrees of integration in the area of ‘economic’ union (less centralised governance) versus ‘monetary’ union (more supranational governance). With the outbreak of the Sovereign Debt Crisis in 2010, the regime-shaping relevance of a second asymmetry emerged: one roughly between the member states of the Euro Area ‘core’ and those in the ‘periphery’. Each of the two asymmetries have created a range of challenges — institutional, policy and political — that undermine the stability and sustainability of the EMU project. Show less
Hardie, I.; Howarth, D.; Maxfield, S.; Verdun, A. 2013
In this introductory chapter we first review the standard bank–credit/capital markets dichotomy used to describe national financial systems. We examine the influence of this dichotomy in the... Show moreIn this introductory chapter we first review the standard bank–credit/capital markets dichotomy used to describe national financial systems. We examine the influence of this dichotomy in the comparative political economy (CPE) literature, which is the disciplinary focus of most of the contributors to this volume. We explain how effectively scholars of the political economy of finance explain the phenomenon of change and then briefly describe the market-based banking model in the context of the broader national financial systems. In the penultimate section, we consider the impact of market-based banking on the domestic political economy and the impact of the international financial crisis. Show less
