monetary union

monetary union, agreement between two or more states creating a single currency area. A monetary union involves the irrevocable fixation of the exchange rates of the national currencies existing before the formation of a monetary union. Historically, monetary unions have been formed on the basis of both economic and political considerations. A monetary union is accompanied by setting up a single monetary policy and establishing a single central bank or by making the already existing national central banks the integrative units of a common central banking system. Usually, a monetary union involves the introduction of common banknotes and coins. This function, however, might be split among the participating states. Either they may be granted the right to issue coins or banknotes on behalf of the common central banking system or the respective national currencies become denominations of an invisible common currency.

The most prominent example of a monetary union at the turn of the 21st century was the creation of a single currency among most European Union (EU) countries—the euro. This example demonstrates the interplay of economic and political factors in the process of setting up a monetary union. From an economic point of view, a monetary union helps reduce transaction costs in an increasingly integrated regional market. It also helps increase price transparency, thus increasing inner-regional competition and market efficiency. In addition, a monetary union was seen to be an essential step toward the further political integration of the EU.

A monetary union may have adverse effects on the participating economies. In the case of the euro, some economists raised doubts about whether the EU could be regarded as an “optimum currency area.” Economic diversity and the inflexibility of labour markets were seen as the major obstacles for EU member states to exploit to the full the benefits of monetary union. Monetary integration was seen to leave some economies particularly vulnerable to asymmetric (external) shocks, as national decision makers were rendered no longer in control of nominal interest rates. (See also euro-zone debt crisis.)

As a result, the creation of a monetary union represents a challenge at both the domestic and supranational levels. It raises the question of the institutional design of a common monetary policy and the necessity of a simultaneous integration of macroeconomic policies. Because these issues touch on core aspects of national sovereignty, monetary unions are sometimes associated with the transition of a confederation of states toward a federal system. However, as the example of the European Economic and Monetary Union demonstrates, a centralized monetary policy may be compatible with a decentralized economic policy framework. In this framework, national governments remain solely responsible for economic policies but are required to engage in policy coordination. They also must respect a set of common rules for the conduct of their fiscal policies. This notably includes the rule to avoid excessive government deficits.

Paul De Grauwe (ed.), The Political Economy of Monetary Union (2001); Daniel Gros and Niels Thygesen, European Monetary Integration, 2nd ed. (1998); Harold James, Making the European Monetary Union (2012).