Euro Cash in Austria Five Years after Its Introduction – What the Public Thinks

This paper analyzes Austrian and euro area opinion polls to assess the Austrian public’s views about the single currency five years after the introduction of euro cash. The analysis focuses on the following questions: How are Austrians managing with the euro now? How do Austrians assess the opportunities the euro offers? How did the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) and other institutions cope with the communication policy challenges involved in the introduction of the euro? How good a feel have people developed for euro prices? How happy are Austrians with the euro compared with people in other euro area countries? The survey results show that the euro is recognized as a stable currency; it fulfills Austrians’ demand for price stability. People have largely overcome whatever problems they had using the euro in day-to-day transactions initially. The overwhelming majority of people are aware of the advantages the euro has for the economy and for them personally. People’s perception of the value of euro prices is getting better by the year; euro cash is widely accepted. The OeNB’s activities have contributed substantially to the positive attitude toward the euro. A final remaining challenge is the need to dispel the mistaken impression that the euro has contributed to price increases. Other empirical evidence corroborates the widely held belief that the euro has resulted in only a limited degree of price convergence in the euro area.