Suchergebnisse

About a decade ago, papers by Gruner and Hefeker (1999) and Cukierman and Lippi (2001) predicted that European Monetary Union may lead to higher inflation and unemployment in some participating countries. Meanwhile, we know that these predictions have not come true. The present paper develops a model of trade union behavior that explains why EMU was more successful than we predicted. The paper also sheds new light on the macroeconomic role of central bank flexibility. [Copyright Elsevier B.V.]

This is a survey on the recent game theoretic literature on committee decision making. We consider theoretical work on the role of (i) strategic voting, (ii) costly information acquisition, (iii) conflicting interests, & (iv) communication in committees. Moreover, we review recent experimental evidence on these issues. Our analysis focuses on the optimal size, composition, & decision rules of committees. We also finally discuss implications for the design of monetary policy committees. Figures, References. [Copyright 2005 Elsevier B.V.]