The EU and the World Economy Flashcards
The question after WWII was “How can Europe avoid a new war”, so how could this be avoided?
Additionally, what could be said of Europe a few years after the War?
could be avoided by European integration
in Europe there was large amounts of poverty til the mid 1950’s—politically Western Europe struggled democratically, hunger and refugee camps were common
What was the question European countries were faced with–post WWII and at the beginning of reconstruction?
Capitalism or not?
What was the “driver” of economic integration?
the Cold War
What can be said of the Marshall plan?
- one part of the plan the OEEC (organization for European Economic Cooperation) created in 1948
- it divided financial aid among members to promote economic integration–reduce intra-European trade barriers
How much did the Marshall Plan entail to European reconstruction?
- $12 billion USD
What was the intergovernmentalist vision of European economic integration?
- nation states should be sovereign to make policy decisions
- cooperation and coordination b/w Euro states both fiscal and monetary policies
- everyone must agree
What did the Schuman Plan do for economic integration?
- created the European Coal and Steel community
- France and Germany would place both their coal and steel sectors under control of a supranational authority
– so that a war between France and Germany would be impossible - it implied pricing, imports, exports and production of all national coal and steel were placed in hands of the ECSC’s high authority
Who were the 4 other countries that joined the ECSC/Treaty of Paris after France and Germany?
- Belgium
- Luxembourg
- Italy
- Netherlands
What did the Treaty of Rome do in 1957?
- created the EEC (European Economic community)
– idea was to expand the economic integration from coal and steel only to the whole economy - as well as form a customs union and a common market b/w 6 members of the EEC
What was the objective of the Treaty of Rome?
- a common market in Europe with free trade b/w 6 members–free mobility of workers, and money liberalization
What did the common customs union do?
- remove tariffs and quotas b/w members of the EEC but have common tariff policy for non-members
What did the Bretton Woods System do for economic integration?
- ensured fixed exchange rates against the USD($) and a fixed $ price of Gold
- the creation of the IMF, and World Bank
- now the world-wide monetary stability fully depended on the $ and on U.S. monetary policy
What was a problem with the idea that the World-wide monetary system post WWII depended on U.S. monetary policy?
- the U.S. monetary policy became too expansionary and the price of Gold decreased
- led to a gradual breakdown of Global fixed exchange rates based on Bretton Woods Agreement between 1971 and 1973
What was the standard price of USD/oz of Gold that was the exchange rate for early integration?
- $35/1 oz of Gold
What happened to the exchange rate in the 1960’s?
- very high inflationary policy from U.S. central bank for Vietnam War–the USD depreciated
–the reactions were that German, French, and other central banks converted their $ into Gold - this led to high instability with the exchange rates
Who brought forward the “solution” for the problems with exchange rate instability?
- Pierre Werner-created the Werner Plan (adopted in 1971) to create an Economic and Monetary Union by 1980
What happened to the Werner Plan?
- it failed to create a monetary union
– fixed exchange rates b/w member states’ currency
What did the 2 oil shocks of the ‘70’s do?
- the shocks in 1973, and 1979 created stagflation–high inflation and decreasing incomes
–so a series of exchange crises followed
What is stagflation?
- low growth rates (stagnation) + increasing inflation
What was true about Germany’s monetary position early ‘60’s?
- the Germans were able to keep inflation rates low–very competitive, but France and Italy were loosing competitiveness
- their currencies were losing value compared to the Deutschmarks
- German central bank-price stability kept the currency strong
–it was appreciating compared to other Euro currencies (Francs, Lira-Italy)
What is the idea “European snake”?
- connect currencies together
What are some details about the European Monetary system?
- created in 1979–revived the idea of closer cooperation on monetary policy b/w the central banks of the EEC countries
What was the aim of the EMS (European monetary system)?
- to establish the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) with European Currency Unit (ECU)
to reduce exchange rate variability and achieve monetary stability within the EEC
What was the ECU?
- the European currency unit–combined 8 member states currencies in the ERM
- the U.K. didn’t participate
**it’s a fictitious currency
What could be said of the second half of the 1980’s?
- stability of Euro currency
- Jacque Delors-president of European Commission suggested complete internal market
- single market program
- policy published in 1985, by ‘87 all member states had ratified
What did the Single European Act do?
- reinforce 4 freedoms of the Treaty of Rome
- free trade of goods and services, free mobility of workers
- focused on capital mobility–financial liberalization
– it threw out all restrictions on capital movement by 1988
What was one aspect of the monetary integration tricky for some member states?
- if countries adopted a fix rate exchange, they had to switch to the common EU monetary policy
– no longer a national monetary policy
What could be said of the Maastricht treaty in relation to economic integration?
- Jacque Delors proposed creating a monetary union with the fall of the Soviet Union
- a single currency would lead to economic integration, political, and cultural integration
- signed in 1992 transformed the European Economic Community into the European Union
When was the Euro created?
1999
Who decided to move the EU towards a monetary union?
- French President François Mitterand, and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl
What are some other things to note about the Maastricht treaty’s influence?
- created the EU citizenship
- strengthened EU cooperation in Defense and Security Policy as well
- Maastricht Law is part of every member’s national law
- votes by parliament
- or referendums: votes by population in country
- ratification of the treaty took place in November 1993
When did Euros begin circulating?
- 2002 coins, banknotes began replacing national currencies
How many member countries of the Eurozone are there?
20 member states
What can be said of the 2004 enlargement?
it was the largest enlargement with Cyprus, Czech Republic, Poland, and many others
- an enlargement to the east
- very difficult enlargement because of the troubles with each countries currencies
- because of the troubles with enlargement the Lisbon treaty needed to be adapted in December 2009
What is true about exiting the Euro zone?
- to leave the Euro zone you have to leave the EU
What exists based on Economic integration of European countries?
- free trade of goods, services, mobility of workers
- common trade policy with the rest of the world
- macroeconomic coordination–single currency and fiscal coordination
- common policy on agriculture
How much global trade does the EU account for? (%)
30%
When was the Customs Union created, and what did it help with?
- created in 1957
- was a first big step of Political coordination–the Treaty of Rome granted power to the EU
What is the EU’s common commercial policy?
- Nations cannot conclude trade agreements with other international member states
– it would undermine other international member states–and undermine the common market
What did the Lisbon treaty do to Commercial policy?
- the common commercial policy expanded to include trades in service to regulate capital movements
Who are the biggest EU trading partners?
- other non EU countries in Europe
- U.S.
- U.K.
- China
What is the EU’s tariff policy?
- Common External Tariffs (CET)
- dairy products are the highest %
- the average tax rate is 5%
What is true about the EU commissioner and anti-competitive practices by firms?
- the Commissioner regulates the policies of restructuring firms in case of anti competitive practices
What is a cartel?
- an organization formed by a group of producers who consult each other in order to reach a formal agreement-usually on illegal prices
– they raise prices generally 20% higher and decide on a price floor for producers - cartels don’t increase efficiency
- it is a “zero-sum” game
- undercut other firms via creating secret agreements
What is an Oligopoly?
- there are many firms on the market
- profit is lower than when it is a monopoly situation
– monopolies have fewer firms but have higher profit
What is the correlation between an Oligopoly and a cartel?
- cartels/firms. get together in an oligopoly situation but set price like if it was a monopoly situation-to increase profit
What is consumer surplus?
- what consumers are ready to pay –(minus) the price they have to pay
- a fictitious gain
What is producer surplus?
- market price – (minus) production costs
What is the market cost for a cartel?
- the production costs
Are cartels harmful to market efficiency?
- Yes
What do cartel participants agree on?
- joint fixing of a price floor (most common)
- geographical market division–exclusive territories
- eliminating a potential competitor
- production quota for each cartel participant