IMPROVING ICE CREAM DELIVERIES TO RETAIL AND INSTITUTIONAL OUTLETS

The author outlines the problems encountered in the present ice cream delivery systems to retail outlets and makes suggestions for improvements.Agribusiness,

ìNew" Views on the Optimum Currency Area Theory: What is EMU Telling US?

This paper traces the advancements of the optimum currency area theory through its successive phases: the "pioneering phase," the "cost-benefit phase," the "reassessment phase," and the "empirical phase" in which we focus mostly on Europe because there is now a wealth of data, research and other information on European integration. The thrust of the pioneering contributions is still relevant and that the analysis of the benefits and costs from monetary integration has greatly evolved. There are more benefits and some of the perceived costs are smaller than previously thought. We also need to distinguish between an "OCA question" and an "EMU question."

Endogeneities of optimal currency areas: What brings countries sharing a single currency closer together?.

Area; Country; Currency; monetary union; Optimal; Working;

Endogeneities of Optimum Currency Areas: What brings Countries Sharing a Single Currency Closer together?

This paper brings together several strands of the literature on the endogenous effects of monetary integration: i.e., whether sharing a single currency may set in motion forces bringing countries closer together. The start of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) has spurred a new interest in this debate. There are four areas that we analyse in this context: the endogeneity of economic integration, in which we look primarily at evidence on prices and trade; the endogeneity of financial integration or equivalently insurance schemes that can be provided by capital markets; the endogeneity of symmetry of shocks and (similarly) at synchronisation of outputs; and the endogeneity of product and labour market flexibility. The paper presents a conceptual framework within which to illustrate such endogeneities. We present diverse arguments and, where possible, explore the incipient empirical literature focussing on the euro area. On the whole, concerning EMU, our preliminary conclusion is one of moderate optimism. The different endogeneities that exist in the dynamics towards optimum currency areas are at work. How strong these endogeneities are and how quickly they do their work remains to be seen.Optimum Currency Area, Economic and Monetary Integration and EMU

What effects is EMU having on the euro area and its member countries? An overview

This paper addresses the effects of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) since the introduction of the euro -- on economic and financial structures, institutions and performance. What type of changes is the euro fostering? What forces is it setting in motion that were not there before? Six years after the launch of the euro, was an appropriate time to start taking stock of these effects. For this purpose, in June 2005, the ECB held a workshop on “What effects is EMU having on the euro area and its member countries?” The workshop was organised in five areas: 1. trade integration, 2. business cycles synchronisation, economic specialisation and risk sharing, 3. financial integration, 4. structural reforms in product and labour markets, and 5. inflation persistence. This paper sets the workshop in the context of the current debate on the effects of EMU and brings together several of the issues raised by the leading presentations: i.e., this paper serves as an overview. Overall, the effects of the euro observed are beneficial. However, progress has been uneven in the above areas. Many potential concerns preceding the launch of the euro have been dispelled. Moreover, it will take more time for the full effects of the euro to unravel. JEL Classification: E42, F13, F33, F42Economic and Monetary Integration and EMU, Optimum Currency Area

Endogeneities of optimum currency areas: what brings countries sharing a single currency closer together?

This paper brings together several strands of the literature on the endogenous effects of monetary integration: i.e., whether sharing a single currency may set in motion forces bringing countries closer together. The start of EMU has spurred a new interest in this debate. Four areas are analysed: the endogeneity of economic integration, in which we look primarily at evidence on prices and trade; the endogeneity of financial integration or equivalently of insurance schemes based on capital markets; the endogeneity of symmetry of shocks; and the endogeneity of product and labour market flexibility. We present diverse arguments and, where possible, explore the incipient empirical literature focussing on the euro area. Our preliminary conclusion is one of moderate optimism. The different endogeneities that exist in the dynamics towards optimum currency areas are at work. How strong these endogeneities are and how quickly they will do their work remains to be seen. JEL Classification: E42, F13, F33, F42Economic and Monetary Integration and EMU, Optimum Currency Area

Convergence of fiscal policies in the euro area

This paper aims at determining whether economic, financial and monetary integration on the one hand, and institutional factors on the other, may have led to gradual convergence in key fiscal variables across the euro area over the recent period, bringing fiscal positions closer together. The Maastricht convergence criteria have facilitated this process but we investigate here whether the structural factors bringing fiscal positions closer together have been a feature of European integration starting already in the 1970s. The alternative scenario is that the euro zone is still characterised by largely idiosyncratic national fiscal policies. Over the 1970-1998 period we run contemporaneous cross-correlation, dispersion and cointegration tests using annual data for government net lending, and total current revenue and expenditure to uncover common trends, as measures of fiscal convergence. We also investigate whether the short term fiscal position in a given country shares both a common euro area component and national features (i.e., idiosyncratic national cycles) using a dynamic factor analysis on quarterly data for the four largest euro area countries since 1985. We find convincing evidence that for euro area countries cross-correlation has increased steadily over the sample period and that fiscal dispersion has been declining at a sustained pace among all countries in the sample. There is evidence of cointegration across the euro area for several countries on the basis of total current revenue, and also for total current expenditure. However, when the series are corrected for the business cycle, cointegration is only accepted for net lending. There is clearly common fiscal cycles for net lending across the euro area that do not only express common business cycles. However, while countries have followed more similar policies in the 1990s in particular during the run-up to EMU, the timing of fiscal adjustment differed across countries. In addition, idiosyncratic components still contribute to a significant share of the variability of individual countries. JEL Classification: H60, E61, C22