EMU Convergence: Reason for Encouragement.

One long-standing problem with currency and trading unions is the varying timing of their business cycles. These variations make adopting uniform fiscal and monetary policies difficult, with some nations bearing more of the pain than others. But over time, these business cycles should converge. Do they? This economist, a member of our board, finds that in the European Union, they have indeed converged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]