No comments about The Purchasing Power of Money: Its Determination and Relation to Credit Interest and Crises.

1 comments about Inflation and the Theory of Money.

1. This detailed, readable review of contempoary theory on the problems of inflation fills an important gap in the literature on macroeconomics that: 1) assesses the implications of inflationary processes for economic policy; 2) synthesizes a general framework within which to illustrate inflationary processes; 3) reconciles the approaches of "demand inflation" and "cost Inflation"; and 4) analyzes the determination and behavior of the general price level in an exchange economy.
   
   The first part of the book reviews neo-classical and "Keynesian" type models of the closed macro-economy, analyzes determination of the general price level, and introduces a restatement of conventional employment theory with emphasis on the general price level.
   
   The second part considers the problems of price and wage determinations and the demend for money in more detail, synthesizing the analyses into a model of the macro-economy and discussing the implications of this model and the preceding analysis for economic policy. Describing alternative approaches to the theory of inflation, each of which has resulted in partial theories, the book avoids fragmentary explanations by setting the entire discussion in the context of a macro-economic general equilibrium framework.
   --- from book's back cover

No comments about Reducing Inflation: Motivation and Strategy (National Bureau of Economic Research Studies in Income and Wealth).

1 comments about Financialization of Daily Life (Labor in Crisis).

1. This is an important book. Its thesis, that daily life has been colonised by financial circuits of capital, is an important one to explore. The book is accessible to a wider readership.

1 comments about Culture and Inflation in Weimar Germany (Weimar and Now: German Cultural Criticism).

1. i have read lots of books on the topic of inflation and it's causes but this is the first book i've seen which addresses the impact of inflation on the people themselves. the author peers into the various ways Germans coped with rapidly rising prices, how rapid inflation distorts self worth and the feelings of guilt that mothers and fathers felt as their standard of living collapsed.
   if you want to see hyper-inflation from the perspective of average people trying to cope with something utterly beyond their control this book will help a lot.

No comments about The Handbook of Inflation Hedging Investments.

1 comments about The Inflation-Targeting Debate (National Bureau of Economic Research Studies in Income and Wealth).

1. and now Bernanke. That's how the flow goes. I am giving 5 stars, but I must admit, I couldn't understand the math too well. Thank God we have such a brilliant mathematician who is such a vigilant inflation fighter.
   
   Verdict: Let the good times roll...

5 comments about Deflation: Why it's coming, whether it's good or bad, and how it will affect your investments, business, and personal affairs.

1. Quick, compelling arguments to change the way you think about the economy and the future. Well written and easy to understand, and fairly light reading for economics. "Must read" for investors, those approaching retirement, etc. Especially important for those with a lot of debt, or thinking about doing a lot of borrowing. Not a 'doomsday' piece, but very thought-provoking as to understanding new ways to win in investing.



2. This book will help you make sense out of the headlines you have been seeing everyday in the business section of your paper. It will help you "connect the dots" about megatrends you maybe were aware of, but not taking into account with your investment decisions. I read this back in August 1998, and it is amazing how current events seem to be playing out almost exactly as forecasted in the book. You should not miss the chance to read this.



3. Shilling predicts good - rather than bad deflation (at least for the USA): i.e. surging demand absorbing excess supply because of price falls. It is a US-centric view - weaker on the international side. Deflation addresses an important & neglected subject. The slow start is tolerable because of good, up-to-date graphs and data generally. Happily he is consultant-clear rather than economist-arcane. His analysis of the US economy is compelling & useful for foreign readers. Nonetheless, there are questions: will policymakers (including central bankers) not adjust; e.g. I understand that defense spending has started rising again. Shilling's review of factors such as the internet is useful. The foreign material is poorer - though his Asian chapters are good. Bizarrely for such a serious & scholarly work, there is no index.

   Shilling is worth reading - he thinks the west will experience `good' rather than `bad' deflation - but how deep will the Deflation be and how long will it last? He could have usefully studied natural resources in more depth; after all, this is where deflation hit hardest and earliest. I will read him again.




4. I found this easy-to-read book very profound in its analysis of the inflation-disinflation-deflation pattern that we are witnessing today.

   The book is filled with charts that highlight the author's message. The last several chapters on investment, business, and personal strategies are priceless.

   No weasel words in this book. Lots of forecasts.

   John D.




5. A careful look at the book shows that Shilling's THEORY for deflation is based on the longwaves of Kondratieff. Shilling uses a real (as in real business cycle literature) rather than a monetary interpretation (a la Milton Friedman, Irving Fisher..) of longwaves which results in his use of 1974 (following the oil shock) rather than 1980 (following the tight monetary policies by central banks under the guise of Monetarist doctrine) as the beginning of the current wave down.

4 comments about Inflation Targeting: Lessons from the International Experience.

1. An easy to read book for people of all levels. It takes the reader through case studies on the various countries which have introduced inflation targeting. This is interesting from a historical perspective, but since inflation targeting really is a very simple concept (announce an inflation target, describe why you aim to hit this target, make it clear how you shall go about achieving this target and at all times be transparent in your pursuit of that target) the book tends to be repetitive. This book simply goes over too many similar regimes and thus cannot help but cover the same points over again. The last chapter is a study of the U.S. (a rare example of a country with very steady inflation which has not introduced an explicit inflation target) with some recommendations on how (and why) it should implement an inflation target. This book is recommended if you want very indepth case studies on the introduction of inflation targeting in countries as different as Sweden, New Zealand, The U.K. and Australia, but if you only need a quick overview of what inflation targeting is then buy a good general Economics textbook and read the section on it.



2. I have never been a fan of condensed books for the obvious reason that they leave out content and motivation. This book, however, could be shrunk by 3/4 without any real loss. Yes, there is much in-depth case study information here, but the paper could have been much better used by substituting much of it for some harder, theoretical motivation and analytical discussions. The authors are capable of this. Also, despite the painstaking redundent detail and a few regressions, for me the authors fail to place inflation targeting and inflation targeting countries into the greater context of inflationary policies and countries facing inflation. It surprises me that there is no mention of some of the, especially developing countries, where inflation has been a serious problem and where most battles of the future are likely to be fought.



3. This book is designed essentially all audiences, i.e., it could an easy read for undergraduate economic students. The book, while somewhat repetitive, is a good 'read' especially as one of the authors is now the Chairman of the Federal Reserve who advocates inflation targeting.
   
   The prior reviewer was unhappy that developing countries' central bank experiences were not included in the book. I am afraid that would have made for an unweildy book given that the focus is on credible inflation targeting regimes with a 'track record' - not countries who are in need of such a regime. Such a discussion can be found in other books. It is not a coincidence that the authors focused on developed countries - that is their interest and specialty.
   
   The focus is not on policy prescriptions per se but what has and has not been effective. This is not an IMF prescription manual for a developing country. The countries studied underwent shocks but their relative stability leads to a more certain analysis.



4. Inflation Targeting is a kind of monetary policy first exercised in New Zealand, in practice, and afterwards brought to the academy research. This book analyses the way that this and many other countries dealed with the new approach of conducting monetary policy towards inflation control, bringing a full and comprehensive description of the behaving of their economies as well as their main macroeconomic variables, before, during and after the targets have been set. It is extremely well written, making its reading very pleasant, and provides the reader a full description of the inflation targeting implementation.

2 comments about The Hyperinflation Survival Guide: Strategies for American Businesses.

1. ~The Hyperinflation Survival Guide~ offers strategies for business managers to keep their enterprise afloat in the midst of runaway inflation. I've spent a great deal of time studying Austrian and Chicago school economists, and would say that economist Gerald Swanson has really done his homework with The Hyperinflation Survival Guide. Within this succinct little book are a plethora of sensible business strategies for American businesses. If businesses are to survive they must effectively counter and minimize the ill effects of rampant inflation and/or hyperinflation. The utmost prudence is required in managing accounts receivable, inventory, and production at such a time. A sudden inflationary economic downturn may very well bring a business to its knees leading to insolvency. So it is vitally requisite to be prepared to operate prudently and insulate a business from the ill effects of runaway inflation. You have to know the rules of the game and be prepared, and the rules are stacked against unprepared business managers. Swanson offers financial management and marketing strategies, and offers concise explanations of the inflationary phenomenon.
   
   Today in the United States, there are a lot of dire economic indicators illustrative of a moribund dollar, which is precariously staged for a collapse. First, the U.S. government has spiraling half-trillion dollar budget deficits which are not projected to disappear, colossal government spending increases, and an exorbitant national debt. More and more federal tax expenditures are simply spent paying interest on the debt rather than provision of actual government services and subsidies. Secondly, the U.S. Dollar is unique in that more dollars in existence are in circulation outside of the United States than within it. Many countries use the dollar as a reserve currency or to settle their current account balances in foreign exchanges. An estimated sixty-five percent of U.S. dollars in existence circulate abroad, so in the midst of a dollar decline, a tidal wave of these dollars from overseas coming home could plunge our economy into hyperinflation. If the dollar declines rapidly, it should be taken for granted that foreign dollar-holders will unload their dollars. Thirdly, the amount of debt-public and private is astronomical-and a soft depression seems almost inevitable. The housing market is already undergoing steady inflation because the Fed has keeps interest rates precariously low. The demise of the dollar could very well become a reality-though it is not a certainty. Presently, the dollar has already suffered a devaluation vis-à-vis the Euro and the British Pound Sterling. If the United States does not experience hyperinflation it seems that we may very well revisit the stagflation phenomenon of the 1970s-with its characteristic high inflation coupled with economic stagnation, unemployment, or economic recession. The Federal Reserve has kept artificially-low interest rates far lower than the market would for many years-and it has set the stage for the on-going housing market inflation and an inevitable market correction with a future bust and collapse in the housing market. Many people will lose their homes, be forced to sell them or experience a crippling financial pinch with their lofty mortgages far exceeds their real estate value. Irresponsible inflationary monetary policy will led to a massive redistribution of real wealth and economic dislocations. While a hyperinflation crisis is not inevitable, every indicator points the way to a soft depression.
   
   Thomas Jefferson once remarked, "The trifling economy of paper, as a cheaper medium, or its convenience for transmission, weighs nothing in opposition to the advantages of the precious metals... it is liable to be abused, has been, is, and forever will be abused, in every country in which it is permitted." This is as true in the eighteenth-century as in the twenty-first century. Nonetheless, the mentality of American exceptionalism compels many Americans to have the "it will never happen here" mentality as if we're exempt from fundamental economic laws. Our Treasury officials and central bankers that craft monetary policy suffer from this mentality as well. So, while the idea of Banana Republic-style inflation seems wholly untenable to our political leadership and populace, we should never rule it out. One South American bank director remarked, "I wonder how the United States holds together. Your investments in productive assets are down, growth in non-productive sectors is up, and you purchase more than you produce." Many economic indicators show that the U.S. Dollar is precariously staged for continual devaluation, and if it were to crescendo to the point where the government expands the monetary supply to pay its obligations than hyperinflation could result. A younger more sober-minded Alan Greenspan adequately surmised: "As the supply of money (of claims) increases relative to the supply of tangible assets in the economy, prices must eventually rise. Thus the earnings saved by the productive members of the society lose value in terms of goods. When the economy's books are finally balanced, one finds that this loss in value represents the goods purchased by the government for welfare or other purposes with the money proceeds of the government bonds financed by bank credit expansion." This sound economic logic has not changed, it's just the House Banking committee member Rep. Ron Paul emphasizes the logic now instead of the present-day Fed Chief who sold out for power. Greenspan further noted, "In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation... ¶...Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights."
   
   All things considered, Swanson has put together a helpful and astute little tract for business managers. While I won't summarize the strategies in detail, Swanson covers financial management, manufacturing decisions for producers and industrial relations with amazing clarity. Prudent business leaders should be prepared for economic calamity including the unthinkable hyperinflation phenomenon. Business leaders caught in the "it can't happen here" mindset could be in for a rude awakening. If in the midst of a hyperinflation crisis, a business leader would be sorely mistaken if they are to look to the government for a solution amenable to them. As Swanson surmises, "The name of the game in terms of planning during periods of high inflation, is guessing what ways the government is going to try and correct their bad choices." If you're an entrepreneur, business executive, economist or otherwise concenred citizen, you should consider reading Dr. Gerald Swanson's book and take the prudent and cautious approach... you won't regret it.



2. Clearly the authors did a lot of work putting this together, and although it packs a lot into a short space, it is nonetheless very understandable and easy to read. Although some of the content is perhaps obvious for the forward thinker, it also contains insights into hyperinflation that one might not think about. The only negative thing I could point out is that it is a little dated, for example suggesting that customer companies insist that their banks allow them access to "special services such as electronic access to their account balances" and the like. On the whole, a very informative and useful book for understanding basic hyperinflationary business strategies.