DP389 The EMS, Spain and Macroeconomic Policy
This paper focuses on Spanish participation in the EMS and tries to answer the following questions: What net gains can Spain be expected to make from EMS membership? Were all the required preconditions satisfied for a smooth entrance into the System? What has been the experience of the peseta so far inside the EMS? And finally, what are the main economic policy changes due to take place as a result of Spanish membership? The analysis in the paper suggests that EMS membership may be very beneficial for the Spanish economy in providing the monetary discipline needed further to reduce inflation. It also indicates that the entry of the peseta in the System under conditions of high international capital mobility has highlighted the problems of inadequately coordinated domestic monetary and fiscal policies and so may also increase fiscal discipline.
