In this paper I analyse four different but related concepts, each of which highlights someaspect of the way in which the state acquires command over real resources through its ability to issue fiat money. They are (1) seigniorage (the change in the monetary base), (2) Central Bank revenue (the interest bill saved by the authorities on the outstanding stock of base money liabilities), (3) theinflation tax (the reduction in the real value of the stock of base money due to inflation and (4) the operating profits of the central bank, or the taxes paid by the Central Bank to the Treasury.To understand the relationship between these four concepts, an explicitly intertemporalapproach is required, which focuses on the present discounted value of the current and future resource transfers between the private sector and the state. Furthermore, when the Central Bank is operationally independent, it is essential to decompose the familiar consolidated 'government budget constraint' and consolidated 'government intertemporal budget constraint' into the separate accountsand budget constraints of the Central Bank and the Treasury. Only by doing this can we appreciate the financial constraints on the Central Bank's ability to pursue and achieve an inflation target, and theimportance of cooperation and coordination between the Treasury and the Central Bank when facedwith financial sector crises involving the need for long-term recapitalisation or when confronted with the need to mimic Milton Friedman's helicopter drop of money in an economy faced with a liquidity trap.
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Paper provided by Centre for Economic Performance, LSE in its series CEP Discussion Papers with number
dp0786.
Find related papers by JEL classification: E4 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates E5 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook H6 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt
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