Sverige och Euron - Utgör Sverige och eurozonen ett optimalt valutaområde?

Abstract

During the 1990s extensive research concerning Sweden and the Eurozone as an optimum currency area was made. But research on the topic has been scarce during the last decade, therefore this thesis aims to extend the contemporary knowledge about Sweden and the Eurozone as an optimum area. By using a quantitative method and data, the thesis will examine in what extent Sweden and the Eurozone fulfils 4 of the criteria stated in the theory of optimum currency areas. The criteria are: similarity in business cycles, openness, labour mobility and wage flexibility. The broad result is that Sweden and the Eurozone can be considered an optimum currency area, as seen from the 4 examined criteria, although by no large margin. The two areas show a high similarity in business cycles and openness, an average wage flexibility while the labour mobility is low. Although the two areas in theory can be considered an optimum currency area, this thesis show that there are still some factors that could be problematic if Sweden considers joining the euro.