Процесот на конвергенција кон Европската Монетарна Унија и улогата на монетарната политика – случајот на Македонија

Abstract

The main research question in this doctoral thesis is devoted to the importance of the European Economic and Monetary Union convergence criteria for ensuring stable and sustainable economic growth and reducing the risk of asymmetric economic shocks in the Member States. Using the basic theoretical tenets and assumptions of forming a currency union, which should function as an optimal currency area, the paper presents a detailed analysis of the performance of the economies of the European Economic and Monetary Union Member States, the new European Union Member States and Macedonia, over the past fifteen years. In the context of the base of economic unification, i.e. the formation of a currency union, the second area of research is the role of the monetary policy and its impact on the economic performance of the countries analyzed. The research on these two key issues supports the hypotheses that the fulfillment of the criteria for real and nominal convergence contributes to ensuring stable and sustainable economic growth in Member States and candidate countries to join the monetary union and that through the achievement and maintenance of price stability, monetary policy affects the economic performance of countries, as well as their resilience in coping with the effects of economic shocks. The problems that countries faced during the crisis are a good test of the importance of the convergence criteria in the process of integration into the eurozone, which should function as an optimal currency area. Also, the survey results point to key areas of acting of macroeconomic policies toward pursuing structural reforms that provide greater resilience and stability, ensuring a strong and sustainable economic growth of both the European Economic and Monetary Union Member States and the new Member States and Macedonia, as a candidate country to join the European Union.