IN THIS ISSUE...

This issue of the Bulletin reports recent research on the future of European banking under EMU, and summarizes conference and workshop proceedings on the future directions of regionalism in Europe, the economic performance of metropolitan areas, the economics of the ‘knowledge driven economy’, Corporate Conglomerates, FDI and the multinational enterprise, and ‘rethinking the welfare state’. Also reported is the discussion meeting on the mechanisms by which currency crises spread.

The Future of European Banking
The recent turmoil in European banking reflects not only the many structural changes that the industry is undergoing, but also the changing nature of the bank as an institution. With more changes in prospect on account of EMU, the ninth annual CEPR report on Monitoring European Integration analyses the nature and pace of the industry's transformation and offers an agenda for future regulatory and competition policy at both the national and supranational levels.

Regionalism in Europe
A joint CEPR/Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation/ZEI conference in Bonn considered the post-2000 ‘geometries and strategies’ for regional development in Europe, including issues of institutional design, trade-related topics, relationships between EMU and non-EMU countries in the EU, and the policy issues raised by the proposals for the EU’s enlargement.

Metropolitan Economic Performance
A CEPR conference in Lisbon covered several issues – including crime, drugs and racism – relating to metropolitan economic performance. Other topics included the social and economic exclusion of women, youth, the unemployed and immigrants, with return migration and the relative performance of immigrants the subject of several contributions.

The Economics of the Knowledge Driven Economy
A joint CEPR/DTI conference in London considered the implications of the UK government’s recent White Paper on competitiveness. The participants explored the nature and meaning of the ‘knowledge driven economy’, and the analytical and policy implications of knowledge for industrial structure, national economic performance and comparative advantage.

Corporate Conglomerates
What makes some corporate conglomerates a success was the subject of a joint CEPR/CSEF conference in Naples. Among the questions addressed were what are the incentives behind the current wave of mergers, and how problems arise in allocating capital internally.

FDI and the Multinational Corporation
A London workshop on FDI and the MNC examined a range of analytical and policy issues, including the positive and negative effects of MNCs on the host economy and host interest groups, and the international competition to attract multinational corporations.

Rethinking the Welfare Society
The second of three CEPR workshops on the future of the welfare society set out to explore how responsibility for the many different welfare activities could and should be divided among government, business, households and other political and economic institutions.

Discussion Meetings

Andrew Rose explained why trade links, rather than macroeconomic fundamentals, provided the key channels for the transmission of currency crises along regional lines.