Seigniorage and public deficit: a test of comparison between Turkey and Tunisia

Usually regarded as a financial advantage enjoyed by the issuers of the currency, seigniorage is the difference between the nominal value of the currency sign and the cost of its production and distribution. Historically, it took the form of the deterioration of the intrinsic value of coinage from its official value. Sometimes exceptional, revenues from this operation allow the government to finance its spending without raising new taxes. In modern economies, in the absence of deep financial markets, the state has recourse to money creation to finance its deficit. In this regard, the article proposes to evaluate the experience of two countries that have negotiated differently the process of financial liberalization: Turkey and Tunisia.