Samuel Maveyraud

French exchange rate management in the 1920s

This article challenges the conventional view of the existence of a pure floating regime in France during the mid 1920s. Our study, based on the archives of the Bank of France and the French Ministry of Finance, as well as a thorough examination of the exchange rates (FRF/USD) and (FRF/GBP) during the 1920s, reveals that the French authorities did intervene on several occasions. From these first direct actions, as well as some other abortive attempts, several lessons can be drawn about the effectiveness of interventions on a ‘modern’ exchange rate market.

Central Bank Independence and Inflation: the Government debt and Inflation Targeting channel

The paper introduces government debt and monetary strategy (Inflation Targeting - IT) into the empirical literature about the relationship between Central Bank Independence (CBI) and inflation. According to Martin’s (2014) model, CBI is not sufficient to maintain price stability in the long run and requires the adoption of IT as a monetary strategy. Using annual data from the period 1998 to 2010 we consider 87 countries (18 considered as developed and 69 as emerging). By using a panel VAR model we explicitly test a possible reciprocal influence between inflation and government debt. At a global level results show an indirect negative effect of Inflation Targeting and CBI on inflation through the government debt channel. A high level of CBI or the choice of IT as a monetary strategy has a significant negative effect on government debt and on inflation.

L’hétérogénéité du réseau de commerce intra-européen depuis l’adoption de l’euro

A partir d’une analyse de reseau pondere de la marge extensive (CEPII-BACI, 1997–2013), cet article evalue le degre d’homogeneite du commerce intra-europeen. Les resultats indiquent que le reseau pondere de la marge extensive est dans l’ensemble heterogene : les pays dont les indicateurs de reseau sont les plus proches de ceux attendus dans un reseau homogene sont la Pologne, la Roumanie, la Suede, la Slovaquie et la Grece. En revanche les pays dont les indicateurs de reseau sont les plus eloignes de ceux qui prevaudraient dans un reseau homogene sont l’Allemagne, les Pays-Bas, la France, la Croatie et la Slovenie.