MONEY: FROM STATISTICAL DEFINITION TO MONETARY POLICY FOR ADOPTING EURO.

Abstract

Abstract: The evolution of monetary aggregates is closely related to the economic cycle, especially the evolution of GDP. The study aims to analyse the primary monetary aggregates (M1), the secondary (M2) and the tertiary (M3) in three Central and Eastern European countries: Romania, Bulgaria and Poland. The countries were chosen as follows: Romania and Bulgaria on the basis of the economic and geographical closeness and Poland as a benchmark for the first group. The data used are money supply, monetary aggregates: primary, secondary and tertiary, in Romania, Poland and Bulgaria, for the period January 2004 - March 2011, the monthly series are obtained from central bank websites, Poland's Central Bank and Bulgarian National Statistical Institute. The evolution of monetary aggregates of the three countries was compared with the Euro area and it was noticed a high degree of similarity between countries more developed economically as compared to less developed countries. From the viewpoint of optimum currency areas, it is necessary that the countries that adopt the Euro would respond symmetrically to external shocks and also have similar economic behaviour. Our study aims, in this respect, to analyse the components and the characteristics of the monetary aggregates, as well as the trends existing within them. The analysis of the correlation between monetary aggregates will show how the way in which the monetary mass and aggregates behave and which the sense of connection established between these countries is. We find that Romania and Bulgaria have a similar comportment, the correlation between these being the highest, we observe some differences between Romania and Bulgaria versus Poland.