Category: Monetary Union

What is fiscal federalism ?

A. A fiscal system for a group of countries in which fiscal policy is set in a treaty signed by all the countries
B. A fiscal system for a group of countries in which government budget deficits are strictly limited
C. A fiscal system for a group of countries involving a common fiscal budget and a system of taxes and fiscal transfers across countries
D. A fiscal system in which fiscal policy is jointly determined by local and national politicians

Which of the following is a problem for monetary policy in a currency union ?

A. Money supply is more difficult to control in a currency union.
B. The inflation-unemployment trade-off is more unstable in a currency union
C. All of these answers describe problems for monetary policy in a currency union
D. The interest rate may be higher than is appropriate for economic conditions in some countries while it’s lower than is appropriate in some others monetary policy must be one size fits all

If two countries A and B are member of a currency union and there is a shift in consumer preferences away from the goods of country A and towards those of country B than which one of the following would help to offset the effect of the resulting changes in aggregate demand in A and B on inflation and unemployment in the tow countries ?

A. A high degree of labour mobility between the tow countries
B. An increase in government spending in country (A)
C. A depreciation in the foreign exchange value of the common currency
D. A low degree of capital mobility between the two countries

How does the eurozone compare with USA as a possible optimal currency area (OCA) ?

A. The eurozone has a higher degree of labour mobility than the USA and labour law is much less restrictive in the erozone than in the USA On these measures the eurozone is more likely to be an OCA than is the USA
B. The eurozone has a lower degree of labour mobility than the USA and labour law is much more restrictive in the erozone than in the USA On these measures the eurozone is less likely to be an OCA than is the USA
C. The eurozone has a higher degree of labour mobility than the USA but labour law is much more restrictive in the erozone than in the USA On these measures it is hard to judge whether the eurozone is more or less likely to be an OCA than is the USA
D. The eurozone has a lower degree of labour mobility than the USA and labour law is much less restrictive in the erozone than in the USA On these measures it is hard to judge whether the eurozone is more or less likely to be an OCA than is the USA

A high degree of real wage flexibility will tend to reduce the cost to a country of joining a currency union because ?

A. All of the reasons given in these answers are correct
B. real wages fall rapidly in a recession and the economy moves quickly back to long run equilibrium so limiting the duration of the recession even when exchange rate adjustment is not possible
C. workers will move from a country in which aggregate demand falls to other countries of the currency union, and so unemployment remains lower than it otherwise would
D. real wages fall and so offset the inflationary effect of switching from the old currency to the new common currency

Which one of the following is not a characteristic that reduces the cost of a signals currency ?

A. A high degree of labour mobility among the countries of the common currency area
B. A high degree of capital mobility among the countries of the common currency area
C. None of the characteristics described in these answers They are all characteristics that reduce the cost of a single currency
D. A high degree of trade integration among the countries of the common currency area

Which one of the following is not an argument in support of the UK joining the EMU ?

A. None of these arguments they are all arguments in support of the UK joining the UMU
B. The characteristics of the UK housing market make UK consumers expenditure very sensitive to changes in interest rates
C. The UK risks exclusion from the Euroland capital market with damaging consequences with damaging
D. The UK needs to be a member of the EMU in order to continue to attract such large share of foreign direct investment in EU countries

Which of the following is a problem for fiscal policy in a currency union ?

A. The central bank controls interest rates on long-term bonds issued by the governments of the member countries of the currency union
B. Government of the member countries of the currency union may run large budget deficit and so crowd out private investment
C. government of the member countries of the currency union may run large budget deficits and so impose costs on other countries by pushing up interest rates on the bonds these countries governments issue
D. It is difficult to raise enough tax revenue to pay for the operation of the currency union