General Patterns in the Monetary History of Balkan Countries in the 20th Century

In this paper the inflations occurring in Balkan Nations in the wake of the First World War as well as the four hyperinflation hitting them in Greece, Yugoslavia, Serbia-Montenegro and Bulgaria between 1944 to 1996 are analyzed and compared. It is shown that they were all caused by substantial government deficits and that they show mostly the same qualitative characteristics known from other high inflations: Initial rise and then fall of the real stock of money, undervaluation of the inflating currency and currency substitution