Economic and financial integration in Europe and a comparison with the United States  In a monetary union, economic and financial integration is crucial as it ensures smooth adjustment processes to economic shocks.
In a monetary union like the United States or the  2  See Box 13 in the June 2007 issue of the ECB Monthly Bulletin entitled “Is the downward impact of globalisation on import prices waning?”  3  There are, however, other factors – independent of globalisation – that can help to explain the decline in global inflation, such as rapid technological progress and structural reforms.