Table of Contents
1 Cover
2 PREFACE
6 1 History and Inflation History as Inflation Importance of Inflation Numbers The Long Coffin Marco Polo and Money Gold and Silver Coins Money and Trust The Urge to Debase Rome's Debasement England's Debasement Shells and Money
7 2 The Critical Importance of Inflation Numbers Making Important Policy Decisions on Inflation Data International Interest in Inflation The Influential Measure Impact on Individual Lives The Popularity of Inflation Numbers India Stops Futures Trading To Influence Inflation China’s Efforts To Influence The CPI Numbers The Effect of Mexican Tomatoes On Inflation Venezuela Attempts To Rein In Inflation Through A Cryptocurrency Fed Up Inflation Numbers Knock‐on Effect Wage indexing When Central Bank Actions Fail To Influence Inflation Investment Decisions and Inflation Numbers Bank Decisions
8 3 What is Inflation? What the Experts Say Defining Inflation Inflation as a Worldwide Disaster
9 4 What is Hyperinflation? What the Experts Say Hyperinflations around the World The German Hyperinflation Experience Yugoslavia: Printing Money To Pay Government Debt Legalized Looting In Zimbabwe Printing 30 Tons of Zairean Banknotes
10 5 Money Supply and Inflation Inflation as a Monetary Phenomenon What Is The Money Supply? Measuring Money Supply Money Creation through Fractional‐Reserve Banking The Money Illusion Credit Is Money The Collapse of Paper Money Demise of the Dollar The Gold Standard The Universe of Cryptocurrencies
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6 Measuring Inflation
Why You Can't Trust the Inflation Numbers
The History of Measuring Inflation
Building the Index
Gin and Inflation Measurement
The Boskin Commission
US GDP Numbers Questioned
What Are People REALLY Buying?
The Changing Time and Place Bias
Market‐Basket Bias
Data Gathering Difficulties
Complexity
Data Gathering
Urban–Rural Inflation Differences In China
Currency Confusion – The Tenge
Pakistan Statistics Concerns
China’s Suspect Statistics
UK Inflation Index Credibility
India – Data Gathering Difficulties
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