Empirical evidence on the relation between fiscal credibility and central bank credibility: The Brazilian case

Abstract

Since the early 1990s, several countries have adopted inflation targeting (IT). However, IT may not be sufficient to ensure fiscal discipline, and governments can still pursue irresponsible fiscal policies under IT. The adoption of irresponsible policies, which lead to a weak fiscal credibility, could undermine the credibility of the central bank. In the present study, we investigate whether a correlation between fiscal credibility and central bank credibility exists. The study contributes to the literature since it presents evidence on the relation between fiscal credibility and central bank credibility. The empirical analysis uses different econometric techniques (OLS, GMM and TOBIT). The findings suggest a positive relation between fiscal credibility and central bank credibility.