MONETARY UNION AS A FORM OF ECONOMIC INTEGRATION - SELECTED THEORETICAL ASPECTS (Unia walutowa jako forma integracji gospodarczej - wybrane aspekty teoretyczne)

The process of economic integration, multi-faceted as it is, requires a theoretical analysis. The areas which ought to be analyzed comprise, among other things, the economic and socio-political goals of the in- tegration, as well as its models and institutional forms. At the same time, the issue of the functioning of the monetary union seems particularly important due to the fact that the union forms a complex integrative structure, and the process of monetary integration is not restricted in practice solely to the European continent. Thus, a theoretical analysis of the monetary union may become a facilitating factor in solving at least some problems concerning the functioning of the discussed form of integration.