The generation and distribution of central bank seigniorage in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13133/2037-3643/9916Keywords:
Disinflation, MonetaryAbstract
We measure the amount of central bank seigniorage generated in three economies in transition and inquire to what extent seigniorage ultimately accrues to the government. We relate our findings to the institutional environment of the three countries. We find that, in parallel to the process of disinflation, seigniorage has declined substantially in the 1990s in all three countries under consideration pointing to more monetary discipline and a strengthening of central bank independence. Only in Hungary seigniorage benefited the government to a significant amount. We interpret this as being the consequence of past policies, rather than an obstacle to further disinflation.
JEL Codes: E58, P24, E31, E52, P21, P34, P35
References
BAGEHOT W. (1873), Lombard Street, Smith Elder and Co., London.
BARABÁS G., I. HAMECZ and J. NEMÉNYI (1998), "Fiscal consolidation, public debt containment and disinflation", Working Paper, no. 1998/5, National Bank of Hungary.
CUKIERMAN A. (1992), Central Bank Strategy, Credibility and Independence, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
CUKIERMAN A., G. MILLER and B. NEYAPTI (2001), "Central bank reform, liberalization and inflation in transition economies – An international perspective", Discussion Paper, no. 2808, May, CEPR.
DRAZEN A. (1985), "A general measure of inflation tax revenues", Economics Letters, no. 17, pp. 327-30.
GOLINELLI R. and R. ROVELLI (2001), "Monetary policy transmission, interest rate rules and inflation targeting in three transition countries", Working Paper, no. 429, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche.
GOLINELLI R. and R. ROVELLI (2002), "Painless disinflation? Monetary policy rules in Hungary, 1991-1999", Economics of Transition, no. 10, pp. 55-91.
GROS, D. and G. HAMILTON (2001), "Profiting from the euro? Seigniorage income for the candidate countries after euro area accession", CEPS, Brussels, mimeo.
HAMECZ I., J. VINCZE and I. ZSOLDOS (1996), "The nature(s) of Hungarian inflation: a study in plurality", ACE Project Research Memorandum-University of Leicester, no. 96/3.
HOCHREITER E. (1999), "The role of disinflation in European debt accumulation", in J.-V. Louis and H. Bronkhorst eds, The Euro and European Integration, P.I.E.- Peter Lang, Bruxelles et al., pp. 295- 312.
HOCHREITER E., R. ROVELLI and G. WINCKLER (1996) "Central banks and seigniorage: a study of three economies in transition", European Economic Review, vol. 40, pp. 629-43.
KLEIN M. and M. NEUMANN (1990), "Seigniorage: what is it and who gets it?", Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv, Bd. 126, pp. 205-21.
KRZAK M. (1996), "Persistent moderate inflation in Poland and Hungary", Focus on Transition, no. 2/1996, Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Wien, pp. 46-66.
NATIONAL BANK OF HUNGARY, Annual Report, various years.
NEMÉNYI J. (1997), "Monetary policy in Hungary: strategies, instruments and transmission mechanism", in Monetary Policy in Transition in East and West: Strategies, Instruments and Transmission Mechanism, Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Wien, pp. 131-61.
ROVELLI R. (1994), "Reserve requirements, seigniorage and the financing of the government in an economic and monetary union", European Economy-Notes and Reports, no.1, pp. 11-55.
SCHOBERT F. (2001), "Seigniorage: an argument for a national currency?", CEPS Working Document, no. 174, October.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
