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Public Support for the Euro and Trust in the ECB. The First Two Decades of the Common Currency

Author

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  • Roth, Felix

    (Department of Economics, University of Hamburg)

  • Jonung, Lars

    (Department of Economics, Lund University)

Abstract

This chapter examines the evolution of public support for the euro and public trust in the European Central Bank (ECB) during the new currency’s first two decades. Using a unique set of opinion poll data that is not available for any other currency, we find that a majority of citizens in every member country of the euro area (EA) support the euro. The economic crisis in the EA following the Great Recession and the euro crisis led to a slight decline in public support for the euro but a sharp fall in trust in the ECB. The recent economic recovery has strengthened support for the euro as well as trust in the ECB. We suggest that support for the euro as a medium of exchange was not strongly affected by the crisis, while trust in the ECB, as the framer of monetary policy, was measurably weakened by the crisis. Our econometric work demonstrates that unemployment is a key driver of support for the euro and its governance. Given these developments, we discuss whether the present levels of support for the euro equip the currency to weather populist challenges in the coming decade.

Suggested Citation

  • Roth, Felix & Jonung, Lars, 2019. "Public Support for the Euro and Trust in the ECB. The First Two Decades of the Common Currency," Working Papers 2019:10, Lund University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2019_010
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Felix Roth & Lars Jonung & Felicitas Nowak-Lehmann D., 2022. "Crisis and Public Support for the Euro, 1990–2014," Contributions to Economics, in: Public Support for the Euro, chapter 0, pages 55-91, Springer.
    2. Felix Roth & Edgar Baake & Lars Jonung & Felicitas Nowak-Lehmann D., 2022. "Revisiting Public Support for the Euro, 1999–2017: Accounting for the Crisis and the Recovery," Contributions to Economics, in: Public Support for the Euro, chapter 0, pages 21-45, Springer.
    3. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2016. "Monnet’s error?," Economic Policy, CEPR;CES;MSH, vol. 31(86), pages 247-297.
    4. Felix Roth, 2022. "Political Economy of EMU: Rebuilding Systemic Trust in the Euro Area in Times of Crisis," Contributions to Economics, in: Public Support for the Euro, chapter 0, pages 93-136, Springer.
    5. Hobolt, Sara B. & Wratil, Christopher, 2015. "Public opinion and the crisis: the dynamics of support for the euro," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 60788, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Brouwer, Nils & de Haan, Jakob, 2022. "The impact of providing information about the ECB’s instruments on inflation expectations and trust in the ECB: Experimental evidence," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    2. Castañeda, Juan & Damrich, Sebastian & Schwartz, Pedro, 2020. "A Model Of Parallel Currencies Under Free Floating Exchange Rates," Studies in Applied Economics 160, The Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise.
    3. Kovács, Olivér, 2020. "Gazellák az iparpolitika tükrében, I [Gazelles and industrial policy, Part 1]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(1), pages 54-87.
    4. Brouwer, Nils & de Haan, Jakob, 2022. "Trust in the ECB: Drivers and consequences," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    5. Federico M. Ferrara & Donato Masciandaro & Manuela Moschella & Davide Romelli, 2023. "What do politicians think of technocratic institutions? Experimental Evidence on the European Central Bank," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 23201, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    6. Carin van der Cruijsen & Jakob de Haan & Maarten van Rooij, 2023. "The impact of high inflation on trust in national politics and central banks," Working Papers 762, DNB.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Euro; public support; trust; unemployment; optimum currency area; monetary union; ECB; EU;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • 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
    • F33 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Monetary Arrangements and Institutions
    • F45 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - Macroeconomic Issues of Monetary Unions

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