A blend of theoretical and policy-oriented analysis, this book provides a comprehensive assessment of the causes and implications of the 1992-3 crisis of the exchange rate mechanism of the European monetary system. Cogent factual presentation - including new details on the crisis - original theoretical analysis, and an interpretation rooted in the theory, make this treatment essential reading to understand the process toward economic and political integration in Europe. The authors first sketch the history of monetary cooperation in Europe from Bretton Woods to Maastricht. A step-by-step account of the 1992-3 events follows, including a discussion of the extent to which financial markets anticipated the crisis. A survey of the literature on the subject introduces the authors' center-periphery model of currency crisis. The authors argue that the vulnerability of Europe to financial crisis was - and still is - the result of the lack of concern with the systemic dimensions of monetary policy-making.