Among the hoped-for effects of the Euro's physical arrival are an increased transparency of the differences in retail prices between different EMU countries, and a subsequent pressure to equalize these prices. The argument for the latter is simple: with national currencies eliminated and everything priced in Euros, how can similar cars or loaves of bread have different prices on either side of a border? Pressures will be formidable to buy where prices are low and sell, or at least not to buy, where prices are high.
Among the hoped-for effects of the Euro's physical arrival are an increased transparency of the differences in retail prices between different EMU countries, and a subsequent pressure to equalize these prices. The argument for the latter is simple: with national currencies eliminated and everything priced in Euros, how can similar cars or loaves of bread have different prices on either side of a border? Pressures will be formidable to buy where prices are low and sell, or at least not to buy, where prices are high.