Currency substitution and money demand in Euroland

Abstract

This papers tests the stability of the demand for money in the euro area in the context of an open economy. A sample consisting of quarterly data covering the 1982:2-1999:3 period is considered. The main finding is that the US long term rate of interest plays a significant role in the European money demand relationship. This result holds for different combinations of variables forming the vector auto-regressive system and suggests that currency substitution vis-à-vis the US dollar may be an important factor influencing the ECB monetary policy.