Preface

Summary

Both of us, independently and jointly, have devoted many years to studying inflation and hyperinflation and analyzing central banking institutions. Indeed, it was our shared interests in these areas that led us to engage in joint research. In 1998, we began to think seriously about whether the incipient deflations in Asia, most notably in China and Japan, amounted to something other than simply the flip side of inflation. It quickly became apparent to us there was, potentially at least, something substantially different about studying an economy in the throes of a deflation. We also decided, early on, that the best way to proceed would be to call upon several interested academics to engage in research that would parallel our own interests, enabling us to provide a much broader perspective on historical and modern experiences with deflation. The end result is the present edited volume. The contributed papers were presented at two major conferences on the topic. One was held in April 2000 at Claremont McKenna College. We also organized a session at the XIIIth International Economic History Congress in Buenos Aires in 2002 that was devoted to deflation.

The rather long gestation period for this project partly reflects the fact that the study of deflation is, in many ways, in its infancy, especially regarding the conduct of monetary policy in such an environment. We were also determined to take the time to hone our ideas through seminar and conference participation, and in other ways to seek out respected colleagues' opinions. We trust that the end product will serve as a useful starting point for academics and policy makers wishing to learn more about the economics of deflation.