Reexamination of Parallel Foreign Exchange and Real Estate Markets, Inflation and Monetary Policy Nexus in Zimbabwe 1998-2007

Abstract

History that is ignored is very vengeful. The paper tests the claim by the central bank governor, who presided over hyperinflation in 2004-2008, that inflation was mainly driven by speculation and shadow printing of money in the financial system. Mutually reinforcing corporate incest manifesting in the real estate sector, banking sector, parallel foreign exchange market and the Zimbabwe stock exchange underpinned hyperinflation dynamics before and during his term of office. Speculative activities in these sectors drove money supply growth, parallel exchange rate premium and so, inflation. Existing studies have not tested his hypothesis and summarily have dismissed it arguing that hyperinflation was a doing of the central bank’s monetary indiscipline. Using ARDL models we establish long run relationships amongst the building materials price index, consumer price index, parallel exchange rate and broad money supply. We also find bidirectional causality between money supply and the consumer price index as well as between the building materials price index and money supply. We find causation running from building materials index to consumer price index; from parallel exchange rate to consumer price index; and from broad money to parallel exchange rate. Our findings, to a considerable extent, not only confirm the governor’s argument, but also confirm existing narratives of monetary indiscipline in explaining hyperinflation.

Keywords: Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Gideon Gono, Inflation, Building Materials Index, CPI, Parallel Exchange rate, ARDL

DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-10-14

Publication date:May 31^st 2020