The first stage of European Economic and Monetary Union

After two false starts, the first stage of European Economic and Monetary Union began on 1st July 1990. The following two articles discuss the consequences that the inauguration of EMU will have for economic policy co-ordination in the European Community. The views stated here are only those of the author and can on no account be attributed to the Commission of the European Communities.     

Does Community Participation Produce Dividends in Social Investment Fund Projects?

Social investment funds (SIFs) aim to strengthen local capacity for design, implementation, and maintenance of social and economic infrastructure projects and to increase community participation in ways that will promote their sustainability and effectiveness. We explore key features of recent SIFs, intended to promote decentralized, participatory decision-making, and management of projects, in SIF-led education projects in Honduras. We investigate empirically whether efforts to implement a participatory approach improve the outcomes of these projects and community members’ perceptions of their effectiveness. The findings identify elements of the participatory methodology which were associated with increased household and community participation and better household opinions of the projects and also show a link between participation and the probability of children’s regular school attendance.     

Issues of European monetary integration

In recent years significant progress has been made towards European monetary integration. Widespread agreement as to the role of monetary policy has been established and there were no realignments of exchange rates within the European Monetary System between March 1983 and July 1985. This was the longest period without realignment in the EMS and contrasted sharply with the six realignments observed in the four years previously. What are the prospects for the further strengthening of the EMS? How can the present system be developed further?     

Kapital und Zins in der stationären Verkehrswirtschaft

Ohne ZusammenfassungVortrag, gehalten an der Universität Freiburg i. Br. am 19./20. November 1940.