This paper summarizes the main Optimum Currency Area Theories (AMO), in order to use this branch of regional integration, to verify the configuration, in a cluster scenario, the euro area member countries during the period 2002-2013, from the perspective of macroeconomic imbalances factors, evidenced by the euro crisis, recent. Therefore, making use of statistical methods of multivariate analysis, and, factor analysis and cluster analysis were allowed to result in that during the period before the outbreak of the euro crisis had agreater concentration of countries in the first group, composed of countries more mature and more competitive economy. However, during the most turbulent crisis years, there is a greater amount of the groups formed by making the first less concentrated and dispersed in the composition of the other group. Only in the last two years of observation, 2012 and 2013, we find again a concentration of member countries in a group, then it is observed that in the years most critical crisis, show up macroeconomic disparities in the euro zone countries. Thus, the research contributes in order to verify, by means of multivariate analysis every year, over a period of time, and contrast with the reality that reaches the monetary union in Europe, to confirm that the disparities that existed before the outbreak of the crisis, and continue to exist between the members of the currency area. Confirming that the convergence criteria has not stopped economic disparities were reduced. / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O presente trabalho faz um resumo das principais Teorias de Área Monetária Ótima (AMO), de modo a utilizar este ramo de integração regional, para verificar a configuração, em um panorama de agrupamento, dos países-membros da área do euro, durante o período de 2002 a 2013, pela ótica de fatores de desequilíbrios macroeconômicos, evidenciado pela crise do euro, recente. Logo, fazendo uso de metodologias estatísticas de análise multivariada, mais precisamente, análise fatorial e análise de agrupamento, permitiu-se resultar em que durante o período anterior à eclosão da crise do euro havia uma maior concentração de países no primeiro grupo, composto por países de economia mais madura e mais competitiva. Entretanto, durante os anos mais turbulentos de crise, observa-se uma maior quantidade de grupos formados, tornando o primeiro grupo menos concentrado e disperso na composição dos demais. Apenas nos dois últimos anos observados, 2012 e 2013, verifica-se novamente uma concentração de países-membros em um grupo, logo se observa que nos anos mais críticos de crise, evidenciam-se as disparidades macroeconômicas dos países da zona do euro. Assim, a pesquisa contribui no sentido de verificar, por meio de análise ultivariada ano a ano, ao longo de um período de tempo, e contrastar com a realidade que atinge a união monetária na Europa, ao confirmar que as disparidades, que já existiam antes da eclosão da crise, e continuam a existir entre os integrantes da área monetária. Confirmando que os critérios de convergência não impediu que as disparidades econômicas fossem diminuídas.

The dissertation consists of three papers presenting applications of meta-analysis in international economics. The first paper examines the effect of common currency on international trade, while the remaining two papers address the relationship between foreign investment and the productivity of domestic firms. An introductory chapter puts these applications into perspective. In the first application I present a meta-analysis of the effect of currency unions on trade, focusing on the euro area. I find strong publication bias in the literature. The estimated trade- promoting effect of currency unions other than the euro reaches more than 60%. In contrast, the euro's trade-promoting effect is insignificant when I correct for publication bias. The empirical literature on this topic shows signs of the so-called economics research cycle: the relation between the reported t-statistics and publication years has an inverse U-shaped form. During the last decade more than 100 researchers have examined productivity spillovers from foreign affiliates to local firms in upstream or downstream sectors. Yet results vary broadly across methods and countries. To examine these vertical spillovers in a systematic way, in the second application I collect 3,626 estimates of spillovers and review the literature quantitatively....

Neste trabalho estudamos diferentes variantes dos modelos GARCH quando consideramos a chegada da informação heterogênea sob a forma de dados de alta freqüência. Este tipo de modelos, conhecidos como HARCH(n), foram introduzidos por Muller et al. (1997). Para entender a necessidade de incorporar esta característica da heterogeneidade da informação, estudamos o problema da agregação temporal para processos GARCH e a modelagem destes em dados de alta freqüência e veremos quais são as desvantagens destes modelos e o porquê da necessidade de corrigi-lo. Propusemos um novo modelo que leva em conta a heterogeneidade da informação do mercado financeiro e a memória longa da volatilidade, generalizando assim o modelo proposto por Müller et al.(1997), e estudamos algumas das propriedades teóricas do modelo proposto. Utilizamos estimação via máxima verossimilhança e amostrador de Griddy-Gibbs, e para avaliar o desempenho destes métodos realizamos diversas simulações. Também fizemos aplicações a duas séries de alta freqüência, a taxa de câmbio Euro- Dólar e o índice Ibovespa. Uma modificação ao algoritmo de Griddy-Gibbs foi proposta, para ter uma janela móvel de pontos, para a estimação das distribuições condicionais, a cada iteração. Este procedimento foi validado pela proximidade das estimações com a técnica de máxima verossimilhança. Disponibilizaremos algumas bibliotecas para o pacote S-Plus em que as análises descritas neste trabalho poderão ser reproduzidas. Informações relativas a tais bibliotecas estarão disponíveis na página Web http://www.ime.usp.br/~ruilova. / In this work we study different variants of GARCH models to analyze the arrival of heterogeneous information in high frequency data. These models, known as HARCH(*n*) models, were introduced by Müller et al.(1997). To understand the necessity to incorporate this characteristic, heterogeneous information, we study temporal aggregation on GARCH processes for high frequency data, and show some problems in the application of these models and the reason why it is necessary to develop new models. We propose a new model, that incorporates the heterogeneous information present in the financial market and the long memory of the volatility, generalizing the model considered by Müller et al.(1997). We propose to estimate the model via maximum likelihood and Griddy-Gibbs sampler. To assess the performance of the suggested estimation procedures we perform some simulations and apply the methodology to two time series, namely the foreign exchange rate Euro-Dollar and the series of the Ibovespa index. A modification of the algorithm of Griddy-Gibbs sampler was proposed to have a grid of points in a mobile window, to estimate the condicional distributions, in each iteration. This was validated by the similar results between maximum likelihood and Griddy-Gibbs sampler estimates obtained. We implemented the methods described in this work creating some libraries for the SPlus package. Information concerning these libraries is available in the Web page http://www.ime.usp.br/~ruilova.

This thesis contains three essays covering different topics in the field of statistics<p>and econometrics of survey data. Chapters one and two analyse two aspects<p>of the Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF hereafter) dataset. This survey<p>provides a large information on macroeconomic expectations done by the professional<p>forecasters and offers an opportunity to exploit a rich information set.<p>But it poses a challenge on how to extract the relevant information in a proper<p>way. The last chapter addresses the issue of analyzing the opinions on the euro<p>reported in the Flash Eurobaromenter dataset.<p>The first chapter Measuring Uncertainty and Disagreement in the European<p>Survey of Professional Forecasters proposes a density forecast methodology based<p>on the piecewise linear approximation of the individual’s forecasting histograms,<p>to measure uncertainty and disagreement of the professional forecasters. Since<p>1960 with the introduction of the SPF in the US, it has been clear that they were a<p>useful source of information to address the issue on how to measure disagreement<p>and uncertainty, without relying on macroeconomic or time series models. Direct<p>measures of uncertainty are seldom available, whereas many surveys report point<p>forecasts from a number of individual respondents. There has been a long tradition<p>of using measures of the dispersion of individual respondents’ point forecasts<p>(disagreement or consensus) as proxies for uncertainty. Unlike other surveys, the<p>SPF represents an exception. It directly asks for the point forecast, and for the<p>probability distribution, in the form of histogram, associated with the macro variables<p>of interest. An important issue that should be considered concerns how to<p>approximate individual probability densities and get accurate individual results<p>for disagreement and uncertainty before computing the aggregate measures. In<p>contrast to Zarnowitz and Lambros (1987), and Giordani and Soderlind (2003) we<p>overcome the problem associated with distributional assumptions of probability<p>density forecasts by using a non parametric approach that, instead of assuming<p>a functional form for the individual probability law, approximates the histogram<p>by a piecewise linear function. In addition, and unlike earlier works that focus on<p>US data, we employ European data, considering gross domestic product (GDP),<p>inflation and unemployment.<p>The second chapter Optimal Combination of Survey Forecasts is based on<p>a joint work with Christine De Mol and Domenico Giannone. It proposes an<p>approach to optimally combine survey forecasts, exploiting the whole covariance<p>structure among forecasters. There is a vast literature on forecast combination<p>methods, advocating their usefulness both from the theoretical and empirical<p>points of view (see e.g. the recent review by Timmermann (2006)). Surprisingly,<p>it appears that simple methods tend to outperform more sophisticated ones, as<p>shown for example by Genre et al. (2010) on the combination of the forecasts in<p>the SPF conducted by the European Central Bank (ECB). The main conclusion of<p>several studies is that the simple equal-weighted average constitutes a benchmark<p>that is hard to improve upon. In contrast to a great part of the literature which<p>does not exploit the correlation among forecasters, we take into account the full<p>covariance structure and we determine the optimal weights for the combination<p>of point forecasts as the minimizers of the mean squared forecast error (MSFE),<p>under the constraint that these weights are nonnegative and sum to one. We<p>compare our combination scheme with other methodologies in terms of forecasting<p>performance. Results show that the proposed optimal combination scheme is an<p>appropriate methodology to combine survey forecasts.<p>The literature on point forecast combination has been widely developed, however<p>there are fewer studies analyzing the issue for combination density forecast.<p>We extend our work considering the density forecasts combination. Moving from<p>the main results presented in Hall and Mitchell (2007), we propose an iterative<p>algorithm for computing the density weights which maximize the average logarithmic<p>score over the sample period. The empirical application is made for the<p>European GDP and inflation forecasts. Results suggest that optimal weights,<p>obtained via an iterative algorithm outperform the equal-weighted used by the<p>ECB density combinations.<p>The third chapter entitled Opinion surveys on the euro: a multilevel multinomial<p>logistic analysis outlines the multilevel aspects related to public attitudes<p>toward the euro. This work was motivated by the on-going debate whether the<p>perception of the euro among European citizenships after ten years from its introduction<p>was positive or negative. The aim of this work is, therefore, to disentangle<p>the issue of public attitudes considering either individual socio-demographic characteristics<p>and macroeconomic features of each country, counting each of them<p>as two separate levels in a single analysis. Considering a hierarchical structure<p>represents an advantage as it models within-country as well as between-country<p>relations using a single analysis. The multilevel analysis allows the consideration<p>of the existence of dependence between individuals within countries induced by<p>unobserved heterogeneity between countries, i.e. we include in the estimation<p>specific country characteristics not directly observable. In this chapter we empirically<p>investigate which individual characteristics and country specificities are<p>most important and affect the perception of the euro. The attitudes toward the<p>euro vary across individuals and countries, and are driven by personal considerations<p>based on the benefits and costs of using the single currency. Individual<p>features, such as a high level of education or living in a metropolitan area, have<p>a positive impact on the perception of the euro. Moreover, the country-specific<p>economic condition can influence individuals attitudes. / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This diploma thesis deals with the preparation of the two EU Member States, namely Czech Republic and Slovakia, for joining the euro area. The first part briefly describes the formation of the Economic and Monetary Union. The core part lies in the assessment and in the comparison of both states regarding the fulfillment of the criteria for adoption of the single currency. The detailed analysis is focused mostly on the nominal and the real convergence.

This graduation theses seeks to analyse expected gains arising from adoption of Europe's single common currency,costs of such adoption and potentional risks.Conception of this analysis is based on the Theory of Optimal Currency Areas alongside empirical studies regarding the same matter. The first chapter summarizes the historical development of european monetary integration and the position of euro in the world monetary system. The second chapter is devoted to the principles of the Theory of Optimal Currency Areas and the asymmetric shocks. The requirements of the Theory of Optimal Currency Areas are tested on the example of the current member states in eurozone. The following two chapters describe expected economic gains and costs connected with the membership of the Czech Republic in eurozone. The last chapter considers possible ways of determining the most suitable timeframe for entrance of the Czech Republic into eurozone.

This work focuses on the Mediterranean Union project proposed by Nicolas Sarkozy during the French presidential campaign in 2007. It represents a comprehensive portrayal of the Mediterranean region which has been due to its unique characteristics the center of attention of various international parties involved. These have been trying to take advantage of the Mediterranean Sea potential namely since the end of the 20th century and, at the same time, to introduce stability by means of various integration groups and further projects of cooperation. The Barcelona Process was the most complex partnership project within the Mediterranean territory which was launched by the European Union in 1995. The Barcelona Process or the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership nevertheless has not brought any significant achievements, with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict being considered the greatest impediment to its success. The work stresses the significance of the new project of the Mediterranean Union, which should learn a lesson from all the previous and, in many aspects unsuccessful, integration efforts and try to find a different way which would lead to achieving stability and cooperation of the countries within the region. In 2008, the Union for the Mediterranean developed from the Mediterranean Union project, which should reassume within the most possible extent the Barcelona Process. At the same time, the new integration approach should not consist of setting general goals but of formulating specific goals and their gradual implementation, which could lead to the unity of the region in the end. Complex political issues, however, still pose the major threat today.

The diploma thesis identifies and assesses current problems of the European Monetary Union, based on: firstly, theoretic approach which reviews the position of monetary union within the range of alternative exchange rate regimes, secondly, historic approach which explains evolutionary principle in the process of European monetary integration, and thirdly, economic approach which analyses the viability of the euro area by application of the criteria of the optimum currency area theory. Subsequently, the roots and development of today's euro area crisis are described and also future scenarios of development in Greece and entire euro area are briefly outlined. The analysis shows that the European Monetary Union by far does not meet the optimum currency area criteria and thus the euro area is considerably vulnerable to future asymmetric shocks.

The master thesis focuses on the European debt crisis. It first studies the development of monetary integration on the continent. It is followed by the detailed analyses of the debt crisis, how it started, what were the triggers, how it unfolded and at what point is it now. It identifies the fundamental issues of the crisis and the reasons of it. Lastly, it analyzes the implications of the crisis in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The master thesis contains 73 pages, 25 figures or tables and 1 annex.

The last global financial crisis spread from the United States of America to the rest oof the world is a result of interacting factors. On the real estate market there emerged a bubble which after boosting caused an economic decrease in most of the world economies. Global imbalances also contributed to different reactions of the single states on the coming crisis. Due to the membership in the European Union the impacts were transmitted tto the surrrounding state of the Union. The negative impacts were sufficiently and fast suppressed, in other countries, like in Greece or Ireland the impact was worsening of the already bad economy condition. The thesis analyses the spillover and transfer of the crises to the EU through the trade channel and it's further spread among the EU. The goal of the thesis is to discover the main causes of the different immpact on the single economies in the EU and to analyse the mutual affecting considering sharing one currency.There is an outline for a possible measure for future cases of occurrence of similar crises considering especially the membership in the European Monetary Union.