Europe and the Euro.

• Position: Bureau Books

Europe and the Euro, edited by Alberto F. Alesina and Francesco Giavazzi, is available from the University of Chicago Press for $110.00

Countries rarely give up their currencies and relatedly their ability to influence such critical aspects of their economics as interest rates and exchange rates. Yet ten years ago a number of European countries did exactly that when they adopted the euro. A decade is an ideal time frame over which to evaluate the success of the euro and to ask whether it has lived up to expectations. Europe and the Euro thus looks at a number of important issues, including: the effects of the euro on the reform of goods and labor markets; its influence on business cycles and trade among members; and whether the single currency has induced convergence or...