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COVID-19, Seignorage, Quantitative Easing and the Fiscal-Monetary Nexus

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  • Alex Cukierman

    (Tel-Aviv University)

Abstract

The huge fiscal expansions triggered by the corona crisis raised debt/GDP ratios to very high levels. This led some economists to reconsider the taboo on seignorage. Following a brief documentation of the crisis impact and aggregate demand policies responses the paper discusses views of academics and policymakers on seignorage. Optimal taxation considerations imply that the decision on allocating deficit financing between debt and seignorage falls within the realm of fiscal authorities—a fact that infringes on central bank (CB) autonomy. The paper explores ideas aimed at improving the tradeoff between those two principles. Implication of cross-country variations in the need to use seignorage is discussed. Comparison of the indirect contribution of quantitative easing (QE) to deficit financing with the direct contribution of seignorage implies that QE is a substitute to seignorage that preserves central bank dominance without much change in existing monetary institutions. Comparison of empirical evidence from the USA during the global financial crisis with the post-WWI German inflation supports the view that for countries experiencing deflationary pressure seignorage is more potent in moving inflation toward its target than QE. Given the current outlook temporary use of seignorage does not appear to involve a substantial risk of inflation.

Suggested Citation

  • Alex Cukierman, 2021. "COVID-19, Seignorage, Quantitative Easing and the Fiscal-Monetary Nexus," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 63(2), pages 181-199, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:compes:v:63:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1057_s41294-021-00150-7
    DOI: 10.1057/s41294-021-00150-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Mao, Ruoyun & Shen, Wenyi & Yang, Shu-Chun S., 2023. "Uncertain policy regimes and government spending effects," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    2. Masciandaro, Donato & Goodhart, Charles & Ugolini, Stefano, 2021. "Pandemic recession and helicopter money: Venice, 1629–1631," Financial History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 28(3), pages 300-318, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Seignorage; Deficits; Government debt; Optimal taxation; Central bank independence; Quantitative easing; Fiscal institutions; Inflation and deflation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E5 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E63 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Comparative or Joint Analysis of Fiscal and Monetary Policy; Stabilization; Treasury Policy
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H12 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Crisis Management
    • H6 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt

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