Editing Inflation (section)

===Overview===

Inflation has been a feature of history during the entire period when money has been used as a means of payment. One of the earliest documented inflations occurred in [[Alexander the Great]]'s empire 330 BC.<ref name=parkin>{{cite journal |last1=Parkin |first1=Michael |title=Inflation |journal=The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics |date=2008 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_888-2|isbn=978-1-349-95121-5 }}</ref> Historically, when [[commodity money]] was used, periods of inflation and deflation would alternate depending on the condition of the economy. However, when large, prolonged infusions of gold or silver into an economy occurred, this could lead to long periods of inflation.

The adoption of [[fiat currency]] by many countries, from the 18th century onwards, made much larger variations in the supply of money possible.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fiat Money: What It Is, How It Works, Example, Pros & Cons |url=https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fiatmoney.asp |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=Investopedia |language=en}}</ref> Rapid increases in the [[money supply]] have taken place a number of times in countries experiencing political crises, producing [[hyperinflation]]s{{snd}}episodes of extreme inflation rates much higher than those observed in earlier periods of [[commodity money]]. The [[hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic]] of Germany is a notable example. The [[hyperinflation]] in Venezuela is the highest in the world, with an annual inflation rate of 833,997% as of October 2018.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Corina |first1=Pons |last2=Luc |first2=Cohen |last3=O'Brien |first3=Rosalba |title=Venezuela's annual inflation hit 833,997 percent in October: Congress |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-economy/venezuelas-annual-inflation-hit-833997-percent-in-october-congress-idUSKCN1NC2F9 |access-date=9 November 2018 |work=Reuters |date=7 November 2018 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212194638/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-economy/venezuelas-annual-inflation-hit-833997-percent-in-october-congress-idUSKCN1NC2F9 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Historically, inflations of varying magnitudes have occurred, interspersed with corresponding deflationary periods,<ref name=parkin/> from the [[price revolution]] of the 16th century, which was driven by the flood of gold and particularly silver seized and mined by the Spaniards in Latin America, to the largest paper money inflation of all time in Hungary after World War II.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bernholz |first=Peter |url=https://www.elgaronline.com/view/9781784717629.00007.xml |title=Introduction |year=2015 |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |isbn=978-1-78471-763-6 |language=en-US |access-date=June 9, 2022 |archive-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618191304/https://www.elgaronline.com/view/9781784717629.00007.xml |url-status=live }}</ref>

However, since the 1980s, inflation has been held low and stable in countries with independent [[central bank]]s. This has led to a moderation of the [[business cycle]] and a reduction in variation in most macroeconomic indicators{{snd}}an event known as the [[Great Moderation]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/article1294376.ece |title=Welcome to 'the Great Moderation' |first=Gerard |last=Baker |work=The Times |date=2007-01-19 |publisher=Times Newspapers |location=London |issn=0140-0460 |access-date=15 April 2011 |archive-date=December 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214175030/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

{{multiple image
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 | image1 = 
Fineness_of_early_Roman_Imperial_silver_coins.png
 | caption1 = Silver purity through time in early Roman imperial silver coins. To increase the number of silver coins in circulation while short on silver, the Roman imperial government repeatedly [[debasement|debased]] the coins. They melted relatively pure silver coins and then struck new silver coins of lower purity but of nominally equal value. Silver coins were relatively pure before Nero (AD 54–68), but by the 270s had hardly any silver left.
 | image2 = Decline_of_the_antoninianus.jpg
 | alt2 = 
 | caption2 = The silver content of Roman silver coins rapidly declined during the [[Crisis of the Third Century]].
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