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Central bank digital currency: When price and bank stability collide

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  • Schilling, Linda
  • Fernandez-Villaverde, Jesus
  • Uhlig, Harald

Abstract

When a central bank introduces a central bank digital currency, it may lead to an erosion of deposits as the stable funding base of banks and result in challenges regarding the asset side of the central bank. We study the resulting economy and tradeoffs in a stylized nominal version of the Diamond-Dybvig (1983) model. The central bank is now involved in maturity transformation, if it so chooses. We posit that the central bank pursues three objectives: price stability, economic efficiency and financial stability. We demonstrate that a CBDC Trilemma arises: out of these three objectives, the central bank can achieve at most two. In particular, a commitment to price stability can cause a run on the central bank. Implementation of the socially optimal allocation requires a commitment to inflation.

Suggested Citation

  • Schilling, Linda & Fernandez-Villaverde, Jesus & Uhlig, Harald, 2020. "Central bank digital currency: When price and bank stability collide," MPRA Paper 114883, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 05 Oct 2022.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:114883
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    CBDC; currency crises; monetary policy; bank runs; spending runs; financial intermediation; central bank digital currency; inflation targeting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages

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