Great Hyperinflations in World History - Term Paper Example

Center of discussion in this paper is hyperinflation as a rate of inflation per month that exceeds 50 percent. Episodes of hyperinflations are rare and they do not take “when money has been commodity-based or when paper money has been convertible into a commodity”. There have been 30 hyperinflations in history. The 30th hyperinflation was supposedly in 2008 in Zimbabwe. The first hyperinflation happened during the French revolution of 1789-96. For Hanke, the most well-known hyperinflation of the 20th century was “the great German hyperinflation of the 1920s, when the monthly inflation rate peaked approximately 30,000% in October 1923.

” Meanwhile, Hanke reported that “the two most virulent hyperinflations recorded---Hungary (1945-46) and Yugoslavia (1992-924) ---curiously remain little known.” Hanke hypothesized that little is known about the two inflations probably because “the peak monthly inflation rates were so high as to be incomprehensible.” According to Hanke, the highest one-day inflation ever recorded was in Hungary in July 10, 1946 when it was 348.46%. Under the Slobodan rule of Milosevic, Yugoslavia recorded the second highest monthly inflation at 313 million percent in January 1994.

The hyperinflation which has the reputation of producing the month with the highest inflation was in Hungary in July 1946 but Hanke did not provide the inflation data. In 1988, Morales (1988) reported that the Bolivian hyperinflation of 1984-86 was the only case hyperinflation not associated with a world or civil war. . Great Inflation of History I. Introduction According to Hanke (2008a, p. 2), hyperinflation is “defined as a rate of inflation per month that exceeds 50 percent.” Episodes of hyperinflations are rare and they do not take “when money has been commodity-based or when paper money has been convertible into a commodity” (Hanke, 2008b).

There have been 30 hyperinflations in history (Hanke, 2008a). The 30th hyperinflation was supposedly in 2008 in Zimbabwe. The first hyperinflation happened during the French revolution of 1789-96 (Hanke, 2008b). For Hanke (2008b, p. 187), the most well-known hyperinflation of the 20th century was “the great German hyperinflation of the 1920s, when the monthly inflation rate peaked approximately 30,000% in October 1923.” Meanwhile, Hanke (2008b, p. 186) reported that “the two most virulent hyperinflations recorded---Hungary (1945-46) and Yugoslavia (1992-924) ---curiously remain little known.

” Hanke (2008b, p. 186) hypothesized that little is known about the two inflations probably because “the peak monthly inflation rates were so high as to be incomprehensible.” According to Hanke (2008b), the highest one-day inflation ever recorded was in Hungary in July 10, 1946 when it was 348.46%. Under the Slobodan rule of Milosevic, Yugoslavia recorded the second highest monthly inflation at 313 million percent in January 1994 (Hanke, 2008b).The hyperinflation which has the reputation of producing the month with the highest inflation was in Hungary in July 1946 but Hanke (2008b) did not provide the inflation data.

In 1988, Morales (1988) reported that the Bolivian hyperinflation of 1984-86 was the only case hyperinflation not associated with a world or civil war. However,