The question goes deeper....

In researching my topic about the Euro and the health of the European Union/Eurozone some interesting questions have come up. One of which is a case study (this goes along with my thesis) of whether single currencies can survive in a multi-country setting. There was quite a bit of talk years ago about a one world government (conspiracy of course but interesting nonetheless) as well as a single currency. There was even mention of the "Amero" a while back, a single currency for all of the Americas. Now I don't have any plans on delving into conspiracy theory or even speculating on hypotheticals but the topic of my thesis was/is unintentionally close to this subject.

Does a single currency work over multiple countries? The most obvious study of this would be the Euro/EU, but have there been other examples of this? If so what/when/where? Results...? This is the course of my research right now, I'm struggling a bit with sources but as I go deeper more resources are becoming available.

This is where the early American colonies have been crossing my mind, that was one example of multiple currencies being used in a single country (that was essentially operating as 13 different countries).

So the question is leading a bit of one direction:

1. can any other scenario, besides one country with one currency, work?

I won't let this get me too far off track but I believe there are interesting and relevant parallels to be drawn here, is the current/most used system of one currency per country the only way? What will we be able to learn from the example of the EURO/EUROZONE?

There is lots of pro-Euro research that supports the viability of the Euro as well as research supporting the demise of the Euro. For example the president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claud Trichet was quoted as saying about the Euro, "A currency which keeps its value fully in line with its definition of price stability - with annual inflation rate of less than two per cent, close to two per cent - over almost 12 years is a currency which inspires confidence."

A great source of this material is author and Professor of finance Salil Sarkar, he speaks of the positives of the Euro and the challenges it faces in the future... the very near future. One big challenge the European Union faces, he mentions, is the lack of a real centralized authority.

Back to my thesis, can the Euro survive without becoming one single absolutely united country? Sarkar does not believe it can, nor do I. I am still leaning towards the unite or disintegrate as regards to the Euro and EU.

Sarkar, Salil "Will the Euro Survive?" http://www.english.rfi.fr/economy/20100628-will-euro-survive (Accessed Feb 23, 2011)

Lanman, Scott: Dorning, Mike: "Geithner Says He's Confident Europe will "fix" Debt Crisis"http://bloom.bg/fFEBYt (Accessed Feb 21 2011)

Sarkar, Salil "Will Austerity Save Europe From Crisis" http://rfi.my/i9mCa2 (Accessed Feb 25 2011)

Bibliography-- part 1

My current path of research continues, as mentioned in the last post I am adding some initial citations of sources I intend to use.

My research is still geared towards some of the problems and issues arising from a single currency for multiple countries with independent (of each other) political, fiscal, social etc beliefs. I am focusing on some of the pitfalls of these individual countries and what they may face in the future if (as per my previous claim) there is not a resolution of "All or nothing." In other words will the Euro be able to survive the current situation or will these countries need to band together and essentially form an official single country? Of course the other option is the stronger producing countries, especially Germany, opting out of the Euro/single currency to avoid being responsible for the current bailouts and the inevitable future bailout of trouble economies within the EU.

Some of the material I intend to use is listed below, some from books and others from Google Scholar. Much more to come...

1. this is a very interesting article that directly relates to and addresses some of my questions of the necessity for the European Union countries to unite completely or suffer further losses from the more troublesome countries. It also talks about how the stronger/higher producing EU countries might not like this/agree to it because of the financial burden of having to further carry the risky countries.

--Eichengree, Barry. "Europe's Trojan Horse." http://relooney.fatcow.com/0_New_6768.pdf (accessed Feb, 15 2011)

2. Brown's book further explores the path the EU is on with the Euro and increasingly weakening countries. The author also goes into further detail about what would likely happen to the EU should more defaults come as a result of the extensive bailouts possible needed.

--Brown, Brenden. "Euro Crash: The Implications of Monetary Failure in Europe." Palgrave Mcmillan, 2010

3. Roubin's article on the PIIGS counties is very interesting, he basically covers the troubles that lay ahead with the EU.

--Roubin, Nouriel. "Teaching PIIGS to Fly." http://relooney.fatcow.com/0_New_6765.pdf (accessed Feb 17 2011)

4. There's much reading yet to do with Lynn's book but so far he brings up some good topics about current fiscal problems the EU is facing and some implications for the future of the EU/Euro.

--Lynn, Matthew. "Bust: Greece, the Euro and Sovereign Debt Crisis." John Wiley & Sons Inc. 2011.

Research progress

Thanks everyone for the comments, they have been very helpful.

My focus is still in the area of the effect that a single currency has on the several member states of the European Union. As my daily profession I'm a currency analyst and major concerns are coming out of the EU in regards to the "PIIGS" (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) Although these are only 5 countries in a fairly big union, they represent a significant part of the EU gross national product.

As many already know, Greece and Ireland sought bailout money last year from the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund. Two of the five countries of most concern in the EU have not been unable to sustain their debt obligations without outside assistance, when (not if) will the other three countries fall?

I have continued my research along the path of the effects of a single currency union like the EU, I have been researching other countries with similar situation. The EU is definitely not the first of its type nor will it be the last to incorporate a common currency. On a side note there are members of the EU not using the Euro, for example England, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary along with a few others.

Two parts of the research I'm focusing on right now include:

1. The similarities with the EU/Euro and the early American colonies that incorporated the use of 13 different currencies in the 13 different colonies.

2. Also I'm researching effects the Euro is having on the Euro-using members of the EU. As mentioned earlier the "PIIGS" are a focus of my research, with Ireland and Greece receiving an combined 250 billion Euros of bailout money. How can the larger/producing countries hold this up (IE Germany, France etc)?

An interesting topic is how countries can manipulate their own currency when the economic conditions dictate. For example the USD has been at its weakest points over the last 3 years as we've been dealing with the financial crisis. This is no coincidence, it's advantageous for any country during times of financial difficulty to devalue their currency to make exports more competitive in the int'l arena.

In summary, is the Euro dragging down the European Union as a whole? I believe it is and so far my research hasn't uncovered much evidence to the contrary.

The EU is nearly operating as a single country but there are still big gaps in how each country deals with their own debt, so far my claim of "all or nothing" (referring to the EU's need to unite completely or dismantle) is building a strong case.

Bibliography coming shortly....

Updated Thesis

In continuing my research with my thesis and from suggestions from both Professors I am moving the research in a slightly new direction while maintaining a similar thesis.

The goal of this project is to research and possibly discover if the Euro is a key binding force holding the European Union together. If it is there are several important implications therefore my research will lean more towards the following:

1. What effect does the Euro have on the European Union

2. Will the EU have enough common bonds without the existence of the Euro?

3. How have other countries dealt with a common currency like the EU/Euro.

My thesis is slight redirecting more to the effects of the Euro on the European Union and what the European Union might do with out a common currency. My research will also include can the European Union survive with a single currency and/or can a single currency survive within a multiple country union?

My research continues....

Assignment 2

Assignment 2, “The Euro Almighty”

My proposed thesis is still refining, I plan on still discovering and researching if the Euro currency can hold the multi country European Union together. I have narrowed the focus slightly; I will be asking and researching the simple questions of the following:

· Is a single currency enough to hold the European Union together?

In researching this question I have come across many interesting details pertaining to the geopolitical, military, monetary, and foreign policy. I will discuss all those aspects in the attempt to answer the above question.

assignment 1

Assignment 1, “The Euro Almighty”

My proposed thesis for this project will focus on the European Union (EU) and the monetary and political problems that it faces due to the introduction of the single currency, the Euro. The Euro is the binding force holding the EU together and the question I will be asking is if that is enough. Can the Euro hold the Union together? I will use the following as points to explore this question.

I plan to use my emphasis in History to:

1. Draw parallels between the current European Union and the early American Colonies and make conclusions about the differences and similarities of the two.

2. Explore the differences that many countries have had in their early formation and discover if the European Union can survive without becoming a single country.

3. Study the major political, social and historical differences between the EU members that may hinder the more solid formation of a sustainable union.

I will focus Business emphasis on the following:

1. Will money (governments bail outs, bond auctions and foreign money) be enough to hold the EU together?

2. There have been and are expected to be more problem countries within the EU that have received bail out funds, will these funds be able to save the individual economies?

I will attempt to discover and possibly prove that a currency doesn’t make a country just like a product does not make a company. The EU will likely cease to exist if the above questions are not addressed.