01748cas a2200265 a 4500 AALejournalIMF000940 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781451850529 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Thode, Eric. Real Wage Rigidities, Fiscal Policy, and the Stability of EMU in the Transition Phase / Eric Thode, Norbert Berthold, Rainer Fehn. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 1999. 1 online resource (33 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students EMU started with eleven member countries as scheduled on January 1, 1999. The paper shows that the primacy of politics over economics in this decision could have serious consequences concerning the stability of EMU in the transition phase. Speculative attacks against currencies which are in economic distress due to asymmetric shocks can still happen. A speculative attack as such cannot force a country out of EMU. However, the country concerned might voluntarily decide to leave the system as the costs of staying inside EMU, e.g., due to further rising unemployment, become too large to bear. Mode of access: Internet Berthold, Norbert. Fehn, Rainer. IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 1999/083 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/1999/083/001.1999.issue-083-en.xml IMF e-Library