Fifteen years after the euro’s creation, British journalists Larry Elliott and Dan Atkinson assert that there is now ample evidence to evaluate its performance. Examining a range of key economic indicators both hard and soft, the authors conclude that the euro has essentially undermined the European Union.
Elliott and Atkinson compare the European Central Bank to the Federal Reserve, arguing that the architects of the euro subjugated economic measures to political considerations. Consequently, countries that didn’t meet the economic convergence criteria were still allowed entry. The end result is a dysfunctional currency union that is unable to cope with difficult economic circumstances. Assessing the situations in Greece, Spain, Italy, France, Ireland, and Iceland, as well as Britain, this engaging and accessibly written volume will be widely read by economists, pundits, and policymakers in the run-up to the upcoming British referendum on Brexit (Britain’s exit from the European Union).
