Optimum Currency Area: Eurozone Analysis

Kriza eurozone ili poznata i kao europska kriza državnog duga mogla bi se smatrati jednom od najdugovječnijih kriza u povijesti Europe. Ono što je pokrenuto globalnim financijskim padom 2008. godine, eurozone i dalje ostavlja duboku zbrku. U pokušaju da shvati krizu, ovaj će rad analizirati krizu eurozone kroz okvir optimalnog valutnog područja. Optimalna valutna zona (OCA) je koncept koji je uveo Robert Alexander Mundell 1961. godine. Upravo je taj koncept potaknuo stvaranje eurozone kao jedinstvenog valutnog područja. U svom nastanku, OCA je uveden kao pokušaj rješavanja međunarodnog nejednakosti sustava uzrokovanog sustavom fiksnog tečaja. Vjerovao je da će se postavljanjem kriterija za optimalno valutno područje takva pitanja riješiti. Optimalno valutno područje, poznato i kao optimalna valutna regija, geografsko je područje u kojem bi se maksimizirala ekonomska učinkovitost da cijela regija dijeli jednu valutu. Optimalno valutno područje nudi skup kriterija pomoću kojih se može procijeniti podobnost zemlje za članstvo u valutnoj uniji. Eurozona je monetarna unija 19 zemalja članica u Europsku uniju koje su uvele euro kao glavnu valutu i jedino zakonsko sredstvo plaćanja. Monetarnom politikom svih zemalja eurozone upravljaju Europska središnja banka (ECB) i Eurosustav koji čine ECB i središnje banke država EU koje su se pridružile eurozoni. Europska dužnička kriza, često nazvana kriza eurozone. Kriza eurozone prouzročena je krizom platne bilance (naglo zaustavljanje stranog kapitala u zemljama koje su imale znatne deficite i bile ovisne o stranim zajmovima).The eurozone crisis or also known as the European sovereign debt crisis could be considered as one of the longest lasting crisis in the history of Europe. What was triggered by the global financial meltdown in 2008, still leaves the eurozone in a deep mess. In an attempt to make sense of the crisis, this paper will analyse the eurozone crisis through Optimal Currency Area framework. Optimal Currency Area (OCA) is the concept introduced by Robert Alexander Mundell in 1961. It was this concept that sparked the creation of the eurozone as a single currency area. At its origins, the OCA was introduced as an attempt to resolve the international disequilibrium system caused by the fixed exchange rate system. He believed that by providing a criteria for an optimum currency area, such issues would be resolved. An optimal currency area, also known as an optimal currency region, is a geographic area in which economic efficiency would be maximized if the entire region shared a single currency. The optimal currency area offers a set of criteria by which a country's eligibility for membership in a monetary union can be assessed. The eurozone is the monetary union of 19 member states of the European Union that have introduced the euro as their main currency and the only legal tender. The monetary policy of all euro area countries is governed by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Eurosystem, which consists of the ECB and the central banks of the EU countries that have joined the euro area. The European debt crisis, often called the eurozone crisis. The eurozone crisis was caused by the balance of payments crisis (a sudden halt in foreign capital in countries that had significant deficits and were dependent on foreign loans)