SEIGNIORAGE AND EMU - THE FISCAL IMPLICATIONS OF PRICE STABILITY AND FINANCIAL MARKET INTEGRATION

Disinflation, especially if coupled with financial market liberalization, has implications for public finances because it lowers the revenue from seigniorage. There might thus be a trade-off between the criteria on inflation convergence and public finances that were set at Maastricht. This article measures the effects of lower inflation and financial market integration on the revenue from seigniorage for the EU Member States that have in the past relied most heavily on this source of revenues. We find that, except for Greece, seigniorage considerations should no longer be a factor in discussions about EMU.