War Finance, Reconstruction, Hyper-inflation and Stabilization in Hungary: 1938-48(St Antony's Series)

Table of Contents:
Part 1 Introduction and summary: war finance; the economic cosequence of the Second World War; hyperinflation; stabilization; why study the Hungarian hyperinflation?; the framework of the analysis; plan of the book. Part 2 The basic data: prewar data; data from the hyperinflation period; money supply and government debt; prices; unemployment and output; data from the stabilization period. Part 3 Hungary and the German War economy: Hungary's dilemma;supplying the German war economy; conclusions. Part 4 The Gyori program and its macroeconomic consequences: introduction; the Gyori program; the credibility of the Gyori program; monetary policy and inflation , 1938-44; the impact of the Gyori program on the labour market; conclusions. Part 5 The end of the war and the financial toll of reconstruction: the end of the war and its financial toll; reparations. Part 6 State finances and peacetime economic prospects: introduction; a difficult beginning; the inevitability of the inflation tax; the influence of politics in the choice of policies; reparations and reconstruction; conclusions. Part 7 Attempts to control inflation: the three phases of the hyperinflation; the tax on the Pengo; the Pengo indexation experiment; "Calory" wages; the role and significance of alternative transaction media. Part 8 Monetary and fiscal policy during the hyperinflation: a statistical overview of the hyperinflation; money and prices; demand for money and inflationary expectations; does the hyperinflation constitute a homogeneous period?; policy expectations and the demand for money; the links between monetary policy and inflation; the tax 'pengo' period and the final acceleration of inflation; conclusions. Part 9 The end of hyperinflation and its consequences: introduction; a quick end to the hyperinflation?; the credibility of the stabilization of August 1946; monetary following stabilization; demand for money; prices, money supply, and government debt; policy influence on inflation; economic costs of price stability; relative price effects; employment and unemployment; output and productivity; summary and conclusions. Part 10 The lessons to be learned from the hyperinflation and its termination: introduction; supply side influences; the role of credibility; applicability to other inflations; unemployment; indexation; concluding remarks. Appendix A: historical statistics 1938-48; daily data - 1945-46; weekly data - 1945-48; monthly data - 1938-48. Appendix B: additional statistical results; endnotes; bibliographic abbreviations; references; glossary of selected terms; index.