Kindleberger — A Structural View of the German Inflation

This our weekly discussion of the price level as it relates to Perry Mehrling's money view. The price level is the average price of goods in terms of money or, equivalently, the price of money in terms of goods. But what determines the price level? Why is the price level important? And how does it fit into the money view?

This week, we will discuss a 1984 essay by Charles Kindleberger entitled "A Structural View of the German Inflation."

The essay appears as a chapter in the book "Die Erfahrung der Inflation im internationalen Zusammenhang und Vergleich / The Experience of Inflation International and Comparative Studies."

Kindleberger takes a pluralistic approach to explaining the German inflation that occurred from 1914 to 1923—including the famous Weimar hyperinflation of the early 1920s. What can we learn from how Kindleberger thinks about this inflationary episode? To what extent can we apply his approach to our understanding of inflation—or the price level—in general?

Our weekly standing video meeting time is 9 am Eastern Time (America/New York) every Saturday.

See our Discord server for ongoing discussion and a link to the reading: https://discord.gg/YKHZJR8sKc