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Home > QFINANCE Dictionary > Definition of hyperinflation

Definition of

hyperinflation

Economics

extremely high rate of inflation a very rapid growth in the rate of inflation so that money loses value and physical goods replace currency as a medium of exchange. This happened, for example, in Latin America in the early 1990s and in Zimbabwe in the 2000s.

hyperinflation - Related Articles

  • Bolivia

    QFINANCE Country Profiles

    president, Paz Estenssoro, took office in 1985 for the fourth time, the country faced hyperinflation with prices growing at 24,000%. Social unrest, chronic strikes, and drug trafficking seemed endemic to the country. His rule marked something of a turning point, and the country’s economy underwent a series of reforms that were continued by the new administration of Paz Zamora in 1989, and that of President Gonzalo Sanches de Lozada in 1993.

  • Why Printing Money Sometimes Works for Central Banks

    Best Practice

    Of course, if printing money were always a good thing, the Zimbabwean economy in 2009 would be a thing of wonder for the world, instead of the unmitigated disaster it certainly is. Printing money ultimately leads to price inflation, and from there, down the slippery slope to hyperinflation. Before
    By Paul Kasriel

  • The Tragedy of the Euro

    Viewpoints

    In postwar Europe the Bundesbank—which, for historical reasons (the two periods of hyperinflation endured by Germans in the 20th century) was fixated on stable prices—became the yardstick against which all European economies were measured. It is not that the Bundesbank was not itself inflationary; rather
    By Philipp Bagus

  • Nothing but Painful Choices Ahead as the Global Debt Supercycle Ends

    Viewpoints

    In the end the only options are default, which shuts the country out of the debt market until it has got its house in order, or hyperinflation. Greece does not have the option of hyperinflation since it cannot print euros. That is the privilege of the ECB. The Greeks are out of good choices. Our
    By John Mauldin

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Definitions of ’hyperinflation’ and meaning of ’hyperinflation’ are from the book publication, QFINANCE – The Ultimate Resource, © 2009 Bloomsbury Information Ltd. Find definitions for ’hyperinflation’ and other financial terms with our online QFINANCE Financial Dictionary.

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