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Grand corruption instead of commitment? Reconsidering time-inconsistency of monetary policy

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  • Bohn, Frank

Abstract

This paper suggests that inflation may be affected differently by grand corruption compared to its positive nexus with petty corruption. In an extended Barro and Gordon (1983a) model grand corruption may serve as a quasi-commitment device: a cheating (expropriating) government may actually deter a monetary authority from cheating (reneging). Furthermore, Rogoff”s (1985) conservative central banker has an unambiguously beneficial effect; she reduces the inflationary bias even more while also rendering fiscal policy more effective. The model nests the standard fiscal–monetary interaction logic with and without expropriation as well as the diametrical “symbiosis” result obtained by Dixit and Lambertini (2003a).

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  • Bohn, Frank, 2013. "Grand corruption instead of commitment? Reconsidering time-inconsistency of monetary policy," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 478-490.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jimfin:v:32:y:2013:i:c:p:478-490
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jimonfin.2012.05.021
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    Cited by:

    1. Cavoli, Tony & Wilson, John K., 2015. "Corruption, central bank (in)dependence and optimal monetary policy in a simple model," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 501-509.
    2. 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.
    3. Bohn Frank, 2013. "The Politics of Surprise Devaluations: Modelling Motives for Giving Up a Peg," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 233(5-6), pages 562-574, October.
    4. Vincenzo Alfano & Salvatore Capasso & Lodovico Santoro, 2023. "Corruption and the political system: some evidence from Italian regions," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 9(2), pages 665-695, July.
    5. Mayo, Robert, 2016. "Does Bribery Grease the Wheels of Economic Growth?," MPRA Paper 98433, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Crombach, Lamar & Bohn, Frank & Sturm, Jan-Egbert, 2024. "The “Benefits” of being small: Loose fiscal policy in the European Monetary Union," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Monetary policy; Fiscal policy; Inflationary bias; Deficit bias; Expropriation; Political economy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • E61 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H39 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Other

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