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The Euro didn't fail. It has flaws (as did many European currencies that existed before the Euro), but no EU member state has abandoned it, because the upsides
by twblalock 8y ago
The Euro didn't fail. It has flaws (as did many European currencies that existed before the Euro), but no EU member state has abandoned it, because the upsides outweigh the downsides and the costs of leaving would be enormous. Even Greece didn't do that, although they did come close.
- jajag 8y agoThe Euro has failed to generate the promised economic growth. Average GDP growth for the Eurozone since the Euro's adoption is a bit above 20%. The UK has managed double that since it opted to stay out, and other non-Eurozone EU members have done even better. As addressed in the article, the Euro has also failed to promote closer political unity - see what happened during the Greek crises, or what is happening currently in Italy.
- NicoJuicy 8y agoI'm holding you on your UK quote, they had a lot of more advantages playing with their own rulebook. I'm wondering what that will bring without the EU
- zeristor 8y agoWasn't this mostly down to pound plummeting in value. The UK can devalue its currency every time it needs a GDP growth spurt. Just like Italy used to do.
- riskneutral 8y agoI think that’s the point.
- ackidacki 8y agoEurope's most successful countries are the ones with their own currencies. It's easy to compare the differences in growth and debt with those in and out of the EZ. Ireland is the only true exception & it's for reasons relating to its tax policies.
- hal_9000 8y agolol, really ? What an ignorant comment
- twblalock 8y agoWhat's your standard of success? Germany has the largest GDP in Europe by about a trillion dollars and uses the Euro.
- ackidacki 8y agoGDP growth, consumption growth, manageability of debt, standard of life, employment rate. The central question being not "how big is it because of the euro" but "is it better because of the euro" Germany and Benelux are high but problematic in areas of consumption. 41% of the German Economy is export orientated (meaning consumption is extremely low) and while employment rates are high, employment isn't completely 'full time', wages lag productivity significantly (pay is relatively bad) and debts in the private sector are heavily problematic. Not to mention Germany's population demographics don't have a bright future. Contrast this to economies with their own currencies - the UK, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Denmark - which aren't dogged down by such problems. Sweden had a housing crash last year and is managing just fine despite it. If the EZ had another crash it would be debatable whether it can still hold strong - a point reinforced by France's Finance Minister himself.
- NicoJuicy 8y agoWhat do you mean, problematic on areas of consumption? ( From BE, fyi )
- ackidacki 8y agoIn simple terms most of Benelux & German GDP doesn't make its way into citizens pockets, as a result pay is relatively poor and has an impact on the standard of living. This is a result of official policy (Tarifeinheitsgesetz) meant to make labour more competitive. If you look up GDP it is pretty big, but if you look up wages you will find its relatively bad.