Regional insurance against asymmetric shocks: An empirical study for the European community

The loss of the exchange rate as an independent policy instrument implied by European monetary union calls for an insurance scheme as a buffer against asymmetric shocks. We study the performance of such a system using historical data. A reasonable insurance scheme can be implemented on the basis of a fairly complex econometric formula. Simplifying the computation of the transfers severely worsens the performance of the system. Forcing the system to balance financially is not a critical constraint. The simulations show that stabilizing asymmetric shocks around a common trend may amplify the univariate variance of GDP for some member countries.