Euro implications for the service industry in Malta and selected non-Euro countries

Abstract

Participation in EMU involves economic advantages and disadvantages for the countries concerned over and above those expected from participation in the single European market. This dissertation seeks to examine the implications that euro adoption has for the service industry in Malta, Hungary, Latvia and the United Kingdom. It gives a general overview of the theoretical costs and benefits of a common currency. It then uses these theoretical points to analyze the advantages and disadvantages from the perspective of Malta and its service industry. It successively looks at the implications of euro adoption on the three other countries and reviews the effects of such a measure on one of the main service industries in their economies - the tourism industry in Hungary, and the financial services industry in Latvia and the United Kingdom. Finally, the study gives the detailed findings of the survey conducted specifically for this dissertation among a cross-section of service firms in Malta to find their views and perceptions on the implications of euro adoption. It concludes with an analysis of the findings and with an assessment of how these tit in, it at all, with the theoretical implications highlighted in the preceding chapters.