Re: Printing Money

[Jim Devine <JNDF%LMUACAD.BITNET@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I wrote:
>But note that this hyperinflation is really caused by the
>civil war, social conflicts, etc. rather than by the
>printing of money.  The latter is just a symptom.
>Similarly, strictures about the need to balance the government's
>budget hardly solve the real problem.

Alan replied:
Would you agree that we can say the conflict etc. leads
to a reliance of inflationary finance, which in turn
generates the hyperinflation? The "printing of money"
then remains a proximate cause of the hyperinflation.

Sez I:
Yes, but the _proximate_ cause is not the real cause
(unfortunately I've forgotten the fancy language for
the latter). Dealing with the proximate cause without
paying attention to the real structural cause is like
putting a band-aid on a serious bullet wound.

BTW, does anyone know how Kaldor, Robinson, and their
school dealt with the issue of hyperinflation?  I
understand that they deny the role of monetary expansion
altogether.

sincerely,

Jim Devine
jndf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx or jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Econ. Dept., Loyola Marymount Univ., Los Angeles, CA 90045-2699 USA
310/338-2948 (daytime, during workweek); FAX: 310/338-1950
(this space for sale until I can find a quote to replace Engels'.)