The Currency of Ideas : Monetary Politics in the European Union (Broché)

"Why have European states agreed to create a monetary union with a single currency ? ... asks Kathleen R. McNamara in The Currency of Ideas.... The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), she argues, must be primarily explained as an act of political choice, and probably an unwise one, rather than a submission to world economic trends.... She is surely correct to see EMU as a choice made by governments, not by bankers, and her book brings much good political and economic sense to bear on a subject where it is often lacking." — Alan S.
Milward, Times Literary Supplement "The book's remarkably clear account of international economic cooperation demonstrates empirical, theoretical, and methodological rigor.... Essential reading for everyone who seeks to advance our knowledge of globalization, economic policymaking, and international cooperation." — Andrew C. Gould, Comparative Political Studies "It is the prevailing wisdom that economic forces have driven Europe toward the adoption of its single currency, the euro, and that political forces have played a secondary role, if that.
It is refreshing, therefore, to find a book that takes politics seriously in what is surely a political situation (as well as an economic one). McNamara considers not just politics but the ideas that condition political decisions and the environment in which those ideas are developed. (An) interesting book.... Well written with many useful references." — Choice In the new preface to this paperback edition, Kathleen R.
McNamara recounts the rapid progress made in 1998 toward European monetary integration and explores the significance of political forces in bringing about recent key developments. Kathleen R. McNamara is Assistant Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School.