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The political economy of hyperinflation in Venezuela

Author

Listed:
  • Giovanni B. Pittaluga

    (University of Genova)

  • Elena Seghezza

    (University of Genova)

  • Pierluigi Morelli

    (Associazione Bancaria Italiana)

Abstract

We study the Venezuelan hyperinflation as a political phenomenon with distributional and efficiency effects. The hyperinflation originated in publicly financed benefits for the government’s low-income supporters and also had a distributional effect in wiping out the value of bonds and other financial assets of the middle and upper classes that opposed the government. We confirm the fiscal origin of the hyperinflation and also show that, with the inflation tax as the government’s principal source of supplementary revenue, policy managers did not avoid moving to the inefficient side of the Laffer curve. The rate of inflation exceeded Cagan’s revenue-maximizing inflation tax rate and therefore also Bailey’s efficient inflation tax rate.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni B. Pittaluga & Elena Seghezza & Pierluigi Morelli, 2021. "The political economy of hyperinflation in Venezuela," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 186(3), pages 337-350, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:186:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s11127-019-00766-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11127-019-00766-5
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    Cited by:

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    2. Olli-Pekka Hilmola, 2021. "Inflation and Hyperinflation Countries in 2018–2020: Risks of Different Assets and Foreign Trade," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-16, December.
    3. Ademir Rocha & Cleomar Gomes da Silva & Fernando Perobelli, 2022. "The New Economic Geography and labour emigration: Analysing Venezuela's hyperinflation episode," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(1), pages 175-202, January.
    4. Gilberto González-Parra & Benito Chen-Charpentier & Abraham J. Arenas & Miguel Díaz-Rodríguez, 2022. "Mathematical Modeling of Physical Capital Diffusion Using a Spatial Solow Model: Application to Smuggling in Venezuela," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-16, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Hyperinflation; Venezuela; Political redistribution; Thiers’ law;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E41 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Demand for Money
    • E65 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Studies of Particular Policy Episodes

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