欧元信用货币(「A-level备考干货」经济学：欧元 Euro)

The Euro is the single European countries adopted by 18 out of 28 EU countries. The UK has not joined. 欧元是28个欧盟国家中的18个国家所采用的单一欧洲国家。英国还没有加入。

The Euro involves 欧元涉及:

Common currency 共同货币Common monetary policy – Eurozone interest rates set by the ECB in Brussels. 共同的货币政策--欧元区的利率由布鲁塞尔的欧洲央行制定。Some fiscal rules, e.g. The Fiscal Compact (2012) limiting the amount of government borrowing (a balanced budget of less than 3% of GDP) 一些财政规则，例如《财政契约》（2012年）限制了政府的借贷金额（平衡预算低于GDP的3%）The Euro is the second largest reserve currency in the world after the US Dollar. 欧元是世界上仅次于美元的第二大储备货币

Benefits of the Euro 欧元的好处Lower transaction costs for trade, tourism and consumers. 降低贸易、旅游和消费者的交易成本。Greater price transparency (leading to more price competition and lower prices for consumers) 更大的价格透明度（导致更多的价格竞争，降低消费者的价格）Eliminates exchange rate volatility, encouraging trade and inward investment.消除汇率波动，鼓励贸易和内向投资。In theory, lower inflation and lower interest rates. 理论上，降低通货膨胀率和降低利率。Problems of the Euro 欧元的问题Common monetary policy not always suitable for all 18 members. e.g. southern Eurozone in recession, but ECB have kept monetary policy quite tight (relatively high interest rates). This means countries can be at risk of recession (if ECB keep interest rates too high) or boom if ECB don’t tackle inflationary pressure in that country. 共同的货币政策并不总是适合所有18个成员国。例如，欧元区南部处于经济衰退，但欧洲央行一直保持相当紧缩的货币政策（相对较高的利率）。这意味着各国可能面临经济衰退的风险（如果欧洲央行保持太高的利率），或者如果欧洲央行不解决该国的通货膨胀压力，则可能出现经济繁荣。Uncompetitiveness. Countries in the Euro cannot devalue their currency against European neighbours. If an economy becomes uncompetitive (e.g. relatively higher inflation / wages) then they will become uncompetitive and there will be: a fall in demand for exports and growth and a current account deficit. 不具竞争力。欧元区的国家不能对欧洲邻国的货币进行贬值。如果一个经济体变得没有竞争力（例如，相对较高的通货膨胀/工资），那么他们将变得没有竞争力，将出现：出口需求下降，增长和经常账户赤字。Geographical immobilities. The Eurozone is quite diverse, it is difficult for unemployed Spanish workers to move to Germany to take advantage of jobs there. This lack of mobility makes a common monetary policy difficult. 地理上的不稳定性。欧元区是相当多样化的，失业的西班牙工人很难搬到德国去利用那里的工作。这种流动性的缺乏使得共同的货币政策难以实施。Fiscal compact has created pressure for austerity, leading to lower growth. Countries in the Eurozone have few policies to increase aggregate demand (AD) in a recession. 财政契约造成了紧缩的压力，导致增长下降。欧元区各国在经济衰退时几乎没有增加总需求（AD）的政策。Higher bond yields. Countries in Eurozone have faced rising bond yields because they have no Central Bank to act as lender of last resort. 债券收益率上升。欧元区国家面临债券收益率上升，因为它们没有中央银行作为最后的贷款人。Recession and low growth. Since 2008, the Eurozone has experienced low growth, high unemployment. Many fear the Eurozone has a deflationary bias. 衰退和低增长。自2008年以来，欧元区经历了低增长和高失业率。许多人担心欧元区有通货紧缩的倾向。Should the UK join the Euro? 英国应该加入欧元吗

Yes

Reduce exchange rate volatility 减少汇率的波动Encourage trade and inward investment with main trading partners 鼓励与主要贸易伙伴的贸易和内向投资No

UK would suffer from losing independent monetary policy, e.g. no quantitative easing could have made recession worse. 英国会因失去独立的货币政策而受到影响，例如，没有量化宽松政策可能会使经济衰退更加严重。UK housing market very sensitive to interest rates. 英国住房市场对利率非常敏感。UK exports could end up becoming uncompetitive lack Southern Europe 英国的出口可能最终变得没有竞争力，缺乏南欧的竞争力Growth likely to be lower. 增长可能会降低。Past five years suggest membership of the Euro could contribute to very serious recession. 过去五年表明，加入欧元可能导致非常严重的经济衰退。Should UK join the Euro? 英国应该加入欧元吗

Possible essay questions on the Euro 关于欧元的可能的论文问题

Discuss whether an Eastern Europe country like Latvia is likely to benefit from adopting the Euro? 讨论像拉脱维亚这样的东欧国家是否有可能从采用欧元中获益Discuss how the UK economy would be affected if it adopted the Euro? 讨论如果英国采用欧元，它的经济会受到什么影响