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This thesis criticises the current project of European Monetary Union, based on the Maastricht convergence criteria. It attempts to reinterpret the issue of economic convergence by looking into structural aspects from a political economic point of view. Taking a structural approach, I examine the socio-political sustainability of EMU. The thesis applies the theoretical framework set forth by the French regulation school. Drawing on the regulationists' notion of 'regime', the concept of structural / regime compatibility among member states is introduced. The need to study non-monetary regimes in assessing the viability of monetary union is stressed by drawing on the historical experiences of monetary unions in the 19th century - the Latin Monetary Union, the Scandinavian Monetary Union and the American Monetary Union. Among the non-monetary structural regimes, the examination of national labour market regimes is crucial. After the loss of exchange rates as a means of adjustment, labour market adjustment becomes the key in coping with asymmetric economic shocks. Labour market flexibility is considered to be the main weapon of adjustment in post-EMU Europe. The comparison of three main labour market regimes in Europe - France, Germany and Britain - shows that they diverge substantially in their adjustment mechanisms and in the nature of their flexibility. Following Robert Boyer, I argue that there is fundamental incompatibility in national ideologies, concepts and practices of labour market policies in Europe. Without a common labour market regime, such differences could lead to major tensions between the Anglo-Saxon model of'external flexibility' and the continental European model of 'internal flexibility'. The thesis aims to show where the difficulties lie for the management of the future 'Euroland', including Britain, in order to indicate the tremendous task facing European policy makers.

Proefschrift Universiteit Maastricht. / Auteursnaam op omslag: Hans Groeneveld. Met lit. opg. - Met samenvatting in het Nederlands.

Thesis provides short description of development of idea of EMU, from the first attempt to the successful creation. Thesis focus on the case of Slovakia, it's progress in fulfilling nominal criteria as well as progress in real convergence. Thesis also identifies risks of entry and bottlenecks of real convergence.

The project of European economic and monetary union is unique in its range and depth. The new member states were not granted an opt-out clause and that is why they are obliged to become part of the euroarea in the future. Therefore any experience of those EU member states which already adopted the euro should be useful for them. Particular most useful lessons may be learned from the experience of Greece as these countries share some common features. From this reason more detailed study of EMU and single currency and their effects on Greek economy may be worth.

Yes / This chapter reviews the substantive issue of monetary union through evaluating countries readiness for entry utilising the experience of the European Union’s process of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The European single currency system came under unprecedented strain following the Global Financial Crisis induced Great Recession and there is little reason to assume that this will diminish, in any significant way, in the near future. Crucially it is important to reflect that each economy is unique in its blend of sectoral strengths and weaknesses and comparative advantage, therefore the national interest will be distinctively different for each potential participant. In particular, there is no set rule in which to weigh the relative merits of the arguments associated with membership of a monetary union. In terms of the eurozone the chapter critically evaluates the convergence criteria stipulated in the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and empirically reviews the compliance of EU member states. It questions whether the TEU criteria satisfactorily perform this role, such that the convergence criteria present a series of financial tests, of which some are theoretically spurious, while the remainder are inadequate to indicate the range of consequences of participation. Finally, the chapter undertakes an analysis of the macroeconomic performance of Greece. Specifically, it focuses on the main features, economic events and key economic indicators (GDP per capita, inflation, unemployment, twin deficit of current account and net lending/borrowing, output gap and gross debt) during the crucial 2000-09 period, between eurozone membership and the crisis.

Master of Science / Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering / Daniel V. Swenson / This thesis provides a description of Visual EMU, a graphical user interface for the peridynamic EMU code. The peridynamic model is a fundamental method for computational mechanical analysis that makes no assumption of continuous or small deformation behavior and has no requirement for the concepts of stress and strain. The model does not require spatial derivatives and instead uses integral equations. A force density function, called the pairwise force function, is postulated to act between each pair of infinitesimally small particles if the particles are closer together than some finite distance. A spatial integration process is employed to determine the total force acting upon each particle and a time integration process is employed to track the positions of the particles due to the applied body forces and applied displacements. EMU is a computer code developed by Sandia National Laboratories that implements the peridynamic model. Visual EMU is a pre-processor for the EMU code that allows any user to enter all parameters and visualize the resulting material regions, peridynamic grid, and a preview of resulting nodes. Visual EMU can be used before starting a lengthy solution with potential errors. The language, visual layout, and code design of Visual EMU are described along with two examples and their results.

Denna kvalitativa idéanalytiska studie undersöker hur de svenska riksdagspartierna debatterade den ekonomiska krisen i Grekland under år 2011. Centralt för denna studie är om denna debatt förs kring den klassiska höger-vänster politiska skalan eller om partiernas argument snarare kan härledas till en positiv eller negativ syn på en ökad EU-integrering.Till grund för studien ligger ett teoretiskt ramverk från ett flertal forskare med specialisering på EU och nationella politiska partier. Det teoretiska ramverket användes för att skapa analysdimensioner, vilka har legat till grund för hur den här studiens empiriska material har analyserats. Materialet som har använts är de stenografiska uppteckningarna från Riksdagens EU-nämnd. Resultatet visar på att partierna i stor utsträckning för sina diskussioner med hänvisning till en positiv eller negativ syn på EU.

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