TY  - JOUR
AU  - Fischer,Stanley
AU  - Sahay,Ratna
AU  - Vegh,Carlos A.
TI  - Modern Hyper- and High Inflations
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 8930
PY  - 2002
Y2  - May 2002
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8930
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8930.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Stanley Fischer
Governor
Bank of Israel
One Kaplan Street
Jerusalem 91007
Israel
Tel: 9722-655-2701
Fax: 9722-652-8419
E-Mail: sfischer@bankisrael.gov.il

Ratna Sahay
E-Mail: rsahay@imf.org

Carlos A. Vegh
Department of Economics
Tydings Hall, Office 4118G
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742-7211
Tel: 301-405-3546
Fax: 301-405-3542
E-Mail: vegh@econ.bsos.umd.edu
M1  - published as Fischer, Stanley, Ratna Sahay and Carlos Vegh. "Modern Hyper- And High Inflations," Journal of Economic Literature, 2002, v40(3,Sep), 837-880.
AB  - Since 1947, hyperinflations (by Cagan's definition) in market economies have been rare. Much more common have been longer inflationary processes with inflation rates above 100 percent per annum. Based on a sample of 133 countries, and using the 100 percent threshold as the basis for a definition of very high inflation episodes, this paper examines the main characteristics of such inflations. Among other things, we find that (i) close to 20 percent of countries have experienced inflation above 100 percent per annum; (ii) higher inflation tends to be more unstable; (iii) in high inflation countries, the relationship between the fiscal balance and seigniorage is strong both in the short and long-run; (iv) inflation inertia decreases as average inflation rises; (v) high inflation is associated with poor macroeconomic performance; and (vi) stabilizations from high inflation that rely on the exchange rate as the nominal anchor are expansionary.
ER  -