One hundred trillion dollars—that’s 100,000,000,000,000—is the largest denomination of currency ever issued. 1 The Zimbabwean government issued the Z$100 trillion bill in early 2009, among the last in a series of ever higher denominations distributed as inflation eroded purchasing power. When Zimbabwe attained independence in 1980, Z$2, Z$5, Z$10 and Z$20 denominations circulated, replaced three decades later by bills in the thousands and ultimately in the millions and trillions as the government sought to prop up a weakening economy amid spiralling inflation. Shortly after the Z$100 trillion note began circulating, the Zimbabwean dollar was officially abandoned in favour of foreign currencies. From 2007 to 2008, the local legal tender lost more than 99.9 percent of its value (Hanke 2008). This marked a reversal of fortune from independence, when the value of one Zimbabwe dollar equalled US$1.54. Zimbabwe’s extreme and uncontrollable inflation made it the first—and so far only—country in the 21st century to experience a hyperinflationary episode. Hyperinflation devastates people and countries. Zimbabwe, once considered the breadbasket of Africa, was reduced to the continent’s beggar within a few years; its citizens were pushed into poverty and often forced to emigrate. The country’s experience shows how a relatively self-sustaining nation at independence fell victim to out-of-control inflation and the severe erosion of wealth. The causes of Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation, its effects and how it was stopped are particularly instructive. In his seminal work, Phillip Cagan defined hyperinflation as beginning when monthly inflation rates initially exceed 50 percent. It ends in the month before the rate declines below 50 percent, where it must remain for at least a year (Cagan 1956). Zimbabwe entered the hyperinflationary era in March 2007; the period ended when the nation abandoned its currency in 2009 (Chart 1). Bouts of hyperinflation are mostly accompanied by rapidly increasing money supply needed to finance large fiscal deficits arising from war, revolution, the end of empires and the establishment of new states. Hyperinflation, as Cagan defined it, initially appeared during the French Revolution, when the monthly rate peaked at 143 percent in December 1795. More than a century elapsed before hyperinflation appeared again. During the 20th century, hyperinflation occurred 28 times, often associated with the monetary chaos involving two world wars and the collapse of communism (Bernholz 2003). Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation of 2007–09 represents the world’s 30th occurrence as well as the continent’s second bout (after a 1991–94 episode in the Congo).
It is widely expected that a further cut of 100 basis points to 14 percent will follow this week. The policy differs from all economic textbooks. Normally, policymakers try to curb inflation with interest rate hikes. The inflation rate in Turkey is already above 20 percent. Turks took to the streets last weekend to protest the rising cost of living.
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