Abstract

A country participating in a monetary union is constrained by loss of control over seigniorage revenue. Once the government reaches its fiscal limit on ordinary taxation, it cannot turn to seigniorage for financing. We show that a monetary union country can increase its seigniorage revenue by reissuing its own currency even as it fully honors all outstanding debt obligations. We use a simple cash-in-advance model, with domestic currency demand motivated by the need to pay taxes, to show that this policy effectively redistributes seigniorage revenue away from other monetary union members toward the acting country. The magnitude of the seigniorage created by currency reissue is limited both by the relative size of the country and by money demand, and, therefore, by the tax base. If this seigniorage revenue is insufficient, some additional seigniorage is available by allowing the new currency to grow and depreciate over time and domestic real wages to fall.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.