Sir, - In Siobhan Creaton's article entitled "UK economist, warns on EMU difficulties" (September 25th), Mr Neil MacKinnon of Citibank, London, argues that EMU membership could "cause even greater currency volatility and stifle economic growth in states such as Ireland". He emphasises that this "fiscal strait jacket" has been promoted purely on political grounds to date.
I wholeheartedly agree with him, and wonder what answer economists in general would give to the following question. Would Ireland have, fared better economically during the past decade, 1986-1996 (including the crash of "black" October 1987 and the 1992 currency crisis), if the EMU had been in force? - Yours, etc.,
Donnybrook,
Dublin 4.