Is the Euro itself the engine of price rises?

Typedef

I came across an article by Kevin Meyers entitled.

"IRELAND... IN A GERMAN EMPIRE"
A critique on membership of the Euro.

http://www.geocities.com/briamegerdan/esskm1.html

It would have been possible to have taken the British waitand-see-option; but, of course, that would have offended our sense of unBritishness, that curious quality which co-exists with a desire to imitate so much of what goes on in British life.

Mr Meyers concludes that since things like the interest rates throughout the Union are set to the advantage of the Germans (and French) that in fact Ireland is now part of a German Empire, the fourth Reich.

I find colorray between this proposition and the makeup of the USSR, sure it was a Union of 'Republics', but the real power in that Union was always the Russians.

So the argument follows, until such time as the interest rates in the Union are not set to the advantage of the German economy, the Union can be viewed as an Empire.

I don't for what it's worth view the EU as a German Empire, however it is quite clear that on many important issues it is the likes of Germany and to a lesser extent France who ultimately call the shots, that is not quite an Empire, but perhaps it is a modern day equivalent.

mike65

Good old Kevin Myers, always good for some controversial copy.

As for your threadline Typedef, I don't belive the € is primarily resposible for inflation, not any more than any other currency anyway, who's to say what things would be like with the old punt? The sharp increase in some prices is to do with passing on costs (fuel, insurnace, rents etc) and a certain amount of exploitation of the currency change.

The interest rate will be set with the major economies in mind thats true, but to get angry at this suggests that Ireland enjoyed true independant fiscal policy in the past, which is patent nonsense, after all was'nt the punt pegged to Sterling for generations?

The big guns have always dictated currencies valuations/interest rates/stock market performances etc.

How much the one size fits all effects little ol' us will be hard to tell for quite some time, right now arguments are being made for lower interest rates, this would suit Germany most of all but it has'nt happened so is the €
a German plot? Hardly.

Mike.

sceptre

I did a project a few years ago which dealt in part with the problem of asymmetric economic shocks hitting the European economies (basically an economic shock that affects a particular country rather than Europe as a whole due to the downturn in a particular industry)

(see, I'm not a geek:D)

The big problem with such an event is that unlike the US Federal Reserve, the ECB has no powers to divert funds to cope with such an event.

I don't blame the euro itself for the price rises - give me a few years and a proper asymmetric shock and I might. A Europe-wide interest rate without the requisite powers being assigned to the ECB may cause major problems yet.

mike65

I know what asymetric ecomonic shock is, and I'm really not a geek!

Mike.