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Unions, Fiscal Policy And Central Bank Transparency

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  • GIUSEPPE CICCARONE
  • ENRICO MARCHETTI
  • GIOVANNI DI BARTOLOMEO

Abstract

In a unionized economy with endogenous fiscal policy central bank transparency has two contrasting effects on wages, the relative strength of which determines the macroeconomic performance. This finding allows us to demonstrate that (i) if the central bank is populist the effect of transparency is negative, and (ii) if policy makers are sufficiently conservative and the government is active, transparency decreases inflation and unemployment, but opposite results apply if a populist government faces a tight fiscal constraint. Macroeconomic volatility disappears with full transparency and increases, in general, with opacity, but the relationship is hump‐shaped when the central bank is strongly populist.

Suggested Citation

  • Giuseppe Ciccarone & Enrico Marchetti & Giovanni Di Bartolomeo, 2007. "Unions, Fiscal Policy And Central Bank Transparency," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 75(5), pages 617-633, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:manchs:v:75:y:2007:i:5:p:617-633
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9957.2007.01033.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Christoph S. Weber, 2020. "The unemployment effect of central bank transparency," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(6), pages 2947-2975, December.
    2. Dai, Meixing & Sidiropoulos, Moise, 2008. "Fiscal Policy in a Monetary Union in the Presence of Uncertainty about the Central Bank Preferences," MPRA Paper 13907, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Mar 2009.
    3. Meixing Dai & Qiao Zhang, 2017. "Central bank transparency under the cost channel," International Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 189-209, June.
    4. Dai, Meixing & Sidiropoulos, Moïse, 2011. "Monetary and fiscal policy interactions with central bank transparency and public investment," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 195-208, September.
    5. Canofari Paolo & Di Bartolomeo Giovanni & Messori Marcello, 2023. "Sovereign Debt Crisis, Fiscal Consolidation, and Active Central Bankers in a Monetary Union," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 23(1), pages 151-180, January.
    6. Meixing Dai & Moïse Sidiropoulos & Eleftherios Spyromitros, 2015. "Fiscal Policy, Institutional Quality and Central Bank Transparency," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 83(5), pages 523-545, September.
    7. Meixing Dai & Moïse Sidiropoulos, 2011. "Fiscal disciplining effect of central bank opacity: Stackelberg versus Nash equilibrium," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 31(4), pages 3068-3076.
    8. Meixing Dai, 2016. "Static And Dynamic Effects Of Central Bank Transparency," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(1), pages 55-78, January.
    9. Dai, Meixing & Sidiropoulos, Moïse, 2009. "Public investment, distortionary taxes and monetary policy transparency," MPRA Paper 15858, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Ciccarone, Giuseppe & Marchetti, Enrico, 2009. "Revisiting the role of multiplicative uncertainty in a model without inflationary bias," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 104(1), pages 37-39, July.
    11. Oros, Cornel & Zimmer, Blandine, 2015. "Uncertainty and fiscal policy in a monetary union: Why does monetary policy transmission matter?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 85-93.
    12. Carsten Hefeker & Blandine Zimmer, 2011. "Uncertainty and Fiscal Policy in an Asymmetric Monetary Union," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 163-178, February.
    13. Carsten Hefeker, 2011. "Policy Uncertainty and Economic Reforms in a Monetary Union," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 12(3), pages 274-285, August.
    14. Carsten Hefeker & Michael Neugart, 2014. "The Influence of Central Bank Transparency on Labor Market Regulation," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 82(1), pages 17-32, January.
    15. Giuseppe Ciccarone & Enrico Marchetti, 2012. "Optimal linear contracts under common agency and uncertain central bank preferences," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 263-282, January.
    16. Giuseppe Ciccarone & Enrico Marchetti, 2008. "Linear Contracts, Common Agency and Central Bank Preference Uncertainty," Working Papers in Public Economics 115, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Economics and Law.
    17. Moïse Sidiropoulos & Blandine Zimmer, 2009. "Monetary Union Enlargement, Fiscal Policy, and Strategic Wage Setting," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(3), pages 631-649, August.
    18. Meixing Dai, 2010. "Multiplicative uncertainty, central bank transparency and optimal degree of conservativeness," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 30(3), pages 1720-1726.
    19. Meixing Dai & Qiao Zhang, 2013. "Central bank transparency with the cost channel," Working Papers of BETA 2013-06, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.

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    JEL classification:

    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies

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