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The Invention of Inflation-Indexed Bonds in Early America

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Author Info
Robert J. Shiller () (Cowles Foundation, Yale University)

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Abstract

The world is first known inflation-indexed bonds were issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1780 during the Revolutionary War. These bonds were invented to deal with severe wartime inflation and with angry discontent among soldiers in the U.S. Army with the decline in purchasing power of their pay. Although the bonds were successful, the concept of indexed bonds was abandoned after the immediate extreme inflationary environment passed, and largely forgotten until the twentieth century. In 1780, the bonds were viewed as at best only an irregular expedient, since there was no formulated economic theory to justify indexation.

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File URL: http://cowles.econ.yale.edu/P/cd/d14a/d1442.pdf
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Cowles Foundation, Yale University in its series Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers with number 1442.

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Length: 20 pages
Date of creation: Oct 2003
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Handle: RePEc:cwl:cwldpp:1442

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Postal: Yale University, Box 208281, New Haven, CT 06520-8281 USA
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Postal: Cowles Foundation, Yale University, Box 208281, New Haven, CT 06520-8281 USA

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Related research
Keywords: Indexation Inflation History Inflation-Indexed Securities Inflation-Protected Securities Index-linked gilts Tabular Standard United States Massachusetts

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation

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  1. Juan Angel Garcia & Adrian van Rixtel, 2007. "Inflation-linked bonds from a central bank perspective," Banco de España Occasional Papers 0705, Banco de España. [Downloadable!]
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This page was last updated on 2008-6-23.


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