Business Cycles Synchronization in the EMU

Abstract

This article asks whether the business cycles of the EU countries have become more or less synchronized after the introduction of the euro. Our findings show that all countries in our EU sample are better synchronized with the EMU-wide economy in the post-EMU period than they were before the euro. We also show that this increase in synchronization is present in all components of aggregate demand, as well as two supply-side variables, but it is more pronounced in the trade components (imports and, particularly, exports). It is also shown that the increase in trade within the EMU area is at least partly responsible for the increase in cyclical synchronization.