Price revolution

The term price revolution or even Elizabethan Great Inflation refers to a during the 16th century can be observed in Europe rise in the general price level and the associated decline in purchasing power. The term was coined by the economic historian Georg Wiebe in his 1895 published work The History of the price revolution of the sixteenth. and XVII. Century.

In the course of the 16th century, the prices of individual goods increased by three-to fourfold. Since many places Natural duties had been replaced by once fixed cash payments, the price increase for those receiving fixed income led to sensitive purchasing power losses.

The increase in the price level was in regionally varying intensity and did not affect all goods equally. Particularly affected the prices of vital food such as cereals were ( see table).

Table: price increase of goods in Hamburg between 1511/20 and 1561 /70 ( in%)

Contemporary writers such as the French political philosopher Jean Bodin led this inflationary process back to the influx of precious metals from the New World and the Münzverschlechterungen time. Modern research cites other causes rapid population growth, the increased velocity of money and the potential due to the mining technological progress big silver flow rates of the southern German Saigerhüttenindustrie.

As consequences of the price revolution Pieper called the redistribution of income in favor of those receiving flexible income and drastic loss of income for those at long-term labor relations staff.