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The literature on the effects of country risk premium shocks has largely focused on emerging market economies. We empirically show that in developed economies, risk premium shocks explain a non‐trivial share of aggregate fluctuations and are key drivers of real activity during crises. Our empirical results and results from a two‐country New Keynesian model indicate that an increase in the risk premium leads to a reduction in aggregate output under monetary union, but not so in countries with flexible exchange rates and independent monetary policy. Model simulations suggest that managing international capital flows enhances welfare in countries under monetary union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]