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The Exaggerated Death of Inflation
Is the era of high inflation gone forever? In a world of slow growth, high debt, and tremendous distributional pressures, whether inflation is dead or merely dormant is an important question. Yes, massive institutional improvements concerning central banks have created formidable barriers to high inflation. But a significant part of a central bank's credibility ultimately derives from the broader macroeconomic environment in which it operates. In the first half of the 1990s, annual inflation [PDF] averaged 40% in Africa, 230% in Latin America, and 360% in the transition economies of eastern Europe. And, in the early ... (full story)