The Eurozone’s influence on the cyclical macroeconomic performance: comparative analysis of Slovenia and Croatia

This paper analyses the impact of cyclical external shocks on the macroeconomic performance of Eurozone and EU member countries. The latter is achieved through a comparative study of two EU countries, Slovenia and Croatia, of which only the former is a Eurozone member state. Cross-country differences are observed over the 2000-2018 period, thus covering all stages of the economic cycle. The primary hypothesis is that the Eurozone economic integration provides its members with comparably greater macroeconomic stability and balanced growth rates. The research elaborates on the possibilities and effects of more autonomous macroeconomic adjustments tailored to the specific needs of non-Eurozone EU countries. Methodologically, the study exhibits an intricate nexus among theoretical, empirical, and institutional economics and shows that the impact of the country’s international interconnectedness, stemming from the economic and geographical links, bears greater importance than Eurozone membership. Concurrently, this analysis confirms that whether the Eurozone’s benefits outweigh the shortcoming of monetary sovereignty abnegation depends predominantly on the capabilities of individual countries and Eurozone’s institutions to design and execute an effective monetary-fiscal policy mix.