The End Justifies the Means? The Impact of the ECB’s Unconventional Monetary Policy on Citizens’ Trust
Since 2010, the European Central Bank (ECB) has established a range of unconventional monetary policies in the context of several crises, including cheap and long-term refinancing operations and several forms of asset purchases. This ECB action has been legally and politically challenged, raising th...
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Cogitatio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Politics and Governance |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/8928 |
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| author | Moritz Rehm Martin Ulrich |
| author_facet | Moritz Rehm Martin Ulrich |
| author_sort | Moritz Rehm |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Since 2010, the European Central Bank (ECB) has established a range of unconventional monetary policies in the context of several crises, including cheap and long-term refinancing operations and several forms of asset purchases. This ECB action has been legally and politically challenged, raising the question as to how the public has perceived the ECB’s mandate widening. This article assesses the legitimacy of the ECB’s unconventional monetary policy through the lens of public trust using Eurobarometer data from 1999 to 2023. This approach follows the theoretical argument that the legitimacy of non-elected independent public institutions derives from the citizens’ trust in the fulfilment of the institutions’ tasks. Through panel regression analysis, this article first finds that trust in the ECB is commonly pooled with trust in other EU institutions, which makes a singular assessment of public support of the ECB and its policies difficult. Second, macroeconomic factors, which are partially influenced by ECB policies, but which are mostly dependent on national decision-making, are the key factors influencing citizens’ trust in EU institutions, including the ECB. Thus, citizens’ trust in the ECB or the lack thereof is not determined by the ECB’s use of contested unconventional monetary policy, but rather by the macroeconomic performance of their respective national economy. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3f2fc77581d14e2fa4df803331ab9af5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2183-2463 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
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| series | Politics and Governance |
| spelling | doaj-art-3f2fc77581d14e2fa4df803331ab9af52025-01-30T10:39:25ZengCogitatioPolitics and Governance2183-24632025-01-0113010.17645/pag.89283868The End Justifies the Means? The Impact of the ECB’s Unconventional Monetary Policy on Citizens’ TrustMoritz Rehm0Martin Ulrich1Department of European Social Research, Saarland University, GermanyDepartment of European Social Research, Saarland University, GermanySince 2010, the European Central Bank (ECB) has established a range of unconventional monetary policies in the context of several crises, including cheap and long-term refinancing operations and several forms of asset purchases. This ECB action has been legally and politically challenged, raising the question as to how the public has perceived the ECB’s mandate widening. This article assesses the legitimacy of the ECB’s unconventional monetary policy through the lens of public trust using Eurobarometer data from 1999 to 2023. This approach follows the theoretical argument that the legitimacy of non-elected independent public institutions derives from the citizens’ trust in the fulfilment of the institutions’ tasks. Through panel regression analysis, this article first finds that trust in the ECB is commonly pooled with trust in other EU institutions, which makes a singular assessment of public support of the ECB and its policies difficult. Second, macroeconomic factors, which are partially influenced by ECB policies, but which are mostly dependent on national decision-making, are the key factors influencing citizens’ trust in EU institutions, including the ECB. Thus, citizens’ trust in the ECB or the lack thereof is not determined by the ECB’s use of contested unconventional monetary policy, but rather by the macroeconomic performance of their respective national economy.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/8928eurobarometereuropean central bankoutput‐legitimacypublic trustunconventional monetary policy |
| spellingShingle | Moritz Rehm Martin Ulrich The End Justifies the Means? The Impact of the ECB’s Unconventional Monetary Policy on Citizens’ Trust Politics and Governance eurobarometer european central bank output‐legitimacy public trust unconventional monetary policy |
| title | The End Justifies the Means? The Impact of the ECB’s Unconventional Monetary Policy on Citizens’ Trust |
| title_full | The End Justifies the Means? The Impact of the ECB’s Unconventional Monetary Policy on Citizens’ Trust |
| title_fullStr | The End Justifies the Means? The Impact of the ECB’s Unconventional Monetary Policy on Citizens’ Trust |
| title_full_unstemmed | The End Justifies the Means? The Impact of the ECB’s Unconventional Monetary Policy on Citizens’ Trust |
| title_short | The End Justifies the Means? The Impact of the ECB’s Unconventional Monetary Policy on Citizens’ Trust |
| title_sort | end justifies the means the impact of the ecb s unconventional monetary policy on citizens trust |
| topic | eurobarometer european central bank output‐legitimacy public trust unconventional monetary policy |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/8928 |
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