On the measurement of Zimbabwe's hyperinflation

Zimbabwe experienced the first hyperinflation of the 21st century. The government terminated the reporting of official inflation statistics, however, prior to the final explosive months of Zimbabwe's hyperinflation. Hyperinflations have never occurred when a commodity served as money or when paper money was convertible into a commodity. The curse of hyperinflation has only reared its ugly head when the supply of money had no natural constraints and was governed by a discretionary paper money standard. Even though the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe produced an ever-increasing torrent of money, and with it ever more inflation, it was unable, or unwilling, to report any meaningful economic data during most of 2008. The use of purchasing power parity allowed them to overcome a series of data problems and fill Zimbabwe's inflation data void for the August 2008-November 2008 period. In consequence, they produce the only reliable record of Zimbabwe's hyperinflation. And what a record it is -- the second highest inflation in world history.