Open AccessEconomic policy independence in EU member states
Author(s) -
Josip Lučev,
Dario Cvrtila
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
ekonomski vjesnik
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1847-2206
pISSN - 0353-359X
DOI - 10.51680/ev.34.1.17
Subject(s) - sovereignty , independence (probability theory) , politics , accession , european union , state (computer science) , sovereign state , economic policy , economics , political economy , political science , brexit , member state , member states , foreign policy , convergence (economics) , economic system , economic growth , law , statistics , algorithm , mathematics , computer science
Purpose: The independence of the economic policy of national states in theEuropean Union is a relevant and politically controversial issue as notions oflost sovereignty are often evoked by populist political options. It istherefore important to distinctly outline the actual state of affairs. Methodology: Methodology is descriptive and comparative. Thearticle starts by surveying traditional and recent political, institutional andeconomic arguments on policy convergence in areas undergoing economicintegration. The article continues by contrasting the complex notion of economicsovereignty and the ongoing development of economic policy constrictions of EU(and eurozone) membership. Croatia is then compared to relevant economies inkey economic policies in response to the crisis of 2008/09 in order to evaluatethe maneuvering room left by the various policy constrictions. Results: Particular attention is devoted to the comparison of exchange ratepolicy, fiscal policy and monetary policy employed by member states in responseto the crisis of 2008/09. While economic independence in terms of crisismanagement is clearly reduced by virtue of EU and eurozone membership, itseffects should not be felt as a change of policy direction in the case ofCroatia. Conclusion: We conclude that the policy restrictions imposed byEU membership and expected entry into the eurozone are in line with economicrestraints and exhibited national policy preferences prior to EU accession.