Money and the rule of law in Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PHD student in Economics, Department of Economics, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between money creation and the rule of law as two social institutions effective in economic growth and development. Money is created in the context of laws, and therefore it is stated that if there is the rule of law, it will not be possible to expand the money supply; on the other hand, the creation of money and the resulting inflation alter the distribution of income and relative prices and, consequently, affect private property, increase the incentive to engage in non-market activities and government intervention in the economy, and in this way affects the rule of law. Following the study of the relationship between these two variables and the discovery of the causal relationship, using the data of the rule of law of the World Bank and the volume of liquidity in the period 1996 to 2020 for Iran, using Engle Granger method and vector error correction model (ECM), it was found that in the short run, there is a negative and two-way causal relationship between the rule of law and the amount of liquidity. However, in the long run, there is a negative relationship between the volume of liquidity and the rule of law, and causality is established from the volume of liquidity to the rule of law. In other words, the increase in liquidity has reduced the rule of law in Iran.

Keywords