Two Centuries of Currency Policy in Austria
Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Monetary Policy & The Economy, Q3/2016, pp. 61-76.
16 Pages Posted: 8 Oct 2016
Date Written: September 1, 2016
Abstract
This paper is devoted to currency policies in Austria over the last 200 years, attempting to sketch historical developments and uncover regularities and interconnections with macroeconomic variables. During most of the 200-year period, Austrian currencies were subject to fixed exchange rates, in the form of silver and gold standards in the 19th century, as a gold-exchange standard and hard currency policy in much of the 20th century, and with the euro as the single currency in the early 21st century. Austria’s predilection for keeping exchange rates stable is due not least to the country’s transformation from one of Europe’s few power states (up to WW I) to a small open economy closely tied to the large German economy.
Keywords: Currency history, exchange rate policy, central bank, Austria
JEL Classification: E58, F31, N13, N14, N23, N24
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation