( 158 



more money to buy a given quantity of goods, and prices 

 rise. 



In time of major wars decreasing supplies of and increas- 

 ing demands for commodities, increasing supplies of and 

 decreasing demands for money, and decreasing exchange 

 value of currencies are all price-raising factors. There is not 

 one factor depressing prices. 



TABLE 1. CHANGES IN WORLD PRICE LEVEL DURING 

 MAJOR AND MINOR WARS 



Major wars 



Minor wars 



* Generally rising prices due to causes other than wars. 



t A sharp upturn in prices following the disastrous rains, the Irish famine, and the repeal 

 of the English Corn Laws. 



Price Advances Depend on the Magnitude of the War 



Major wars have always been accompanied by rising prices 

 and followed by falling prices. Local wars have little effect 

 on the world price structure (table 1). The Napoleonic Wars 

 and World War I, both world conflicts, swept the whole 

 world price structure upward and then downward. Prices 

 rose in ^all countries because of world- wide changes in sup- 

 plies of and demands for commodities and money which were 

 beyond the control of any one country. During World War 



