Lebanon’s currency crisis: a case of asymmetric rivalries
Lebanon’s currency crisis: a case of asymmetric rivalries

Author(s): Hicham Hachem
Subject(s): Economy, National Economy, Business Economy / Management, Financial Markets
Published by: Нов български университет
Keywords: money creation; parity; lending capacity; redistribution; rivalries
Summary/Abstract: Mainstream explanations argue that the Lebanese currency crisis is rooted in public debt and balance of payments deficits. This paper is less concerned with the causes of the crisis as much as it raises the problem of adverse relationships between institutions of money creation and destruction. The analysis builds on the theoretical approach of mimetic rivalries. It aims to study the sensitivity of solvency constraints to explain asymmetric relationships. The applied case of Lebanon shows two relevant results asymmetric relationships between economic agents and top-down dynamics of money creation and destruction. These findings imply an institutional model of extractive economic policy dominated by strategies of vindication and rivalry.

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