As a result, innovators face the classic “chicken and egg” problem when assessing the network economics of establishing new systems. In the late 1990s, attempts to establish large-scale stored-value card networks in the United States faced these problems and were ultimately not successful.
The euro area’s track record in terms of inflation performance, low interest rates, employment creation, financial-market integration, and trade expansion demonstrate conclusively that the original objectives of the singlecurrency area are being fulfilled.