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

Roth, Felix and Jonung, Lars LU (2019) In Working Papers
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... (More)
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. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Working paper/Preprint
publication status
published
subject
in
Working Papers
issue
2019:10
pages
22 pages
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
9407af0e-e69e-4feb-8a0d-db2791b7372b
alternative location
https://swopec.hhs.se/lunewp/abs/lunewp2019_010.htm
date added to LUP
2019-06-19 13:10:15
date last changed
2019-06-19 13:10:15
@misc{9407af0e-e69e-4feb-8a0d-db2791b7372b,
  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.}},
  author       = {{Roth, Felix and Jonung, Lars}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Working Paper}},
  number       = {{2019:10}},
  series       = {{Working Papers}},
  title        = {{Public Support for the Euro and Trust in the ECB. The First Two Decades of the Common Currency}},
  url          = {{https://swopec.hhs.se/lunewp/abs/lunewp2019_010.htm}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}