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Ideas & Research

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Ideas That Shape Global Economics. Professor Steve H. Hanke's research spans currency reform, hyperinflation measurement, dollarization, free market economics, water resource economics, and commodity trading. His empirical, data-driven work has informed governments, influenced policy, and reshaped how the world understands economic dysfunction.

Research Impact

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Over 600 articles, columns, and papers published across academic journals, policy outlets, and major newspapers.

62 hyperinflation episodes documented — the definitive global count, established in the Hanke-Krus World Hyperinflation Table.

8+ honorary doctorates awarded for scholarship on exchange-rate regimes, currency boards, and monetary stability.

Textbooks used at 100+ universities worldwide — shaping the next generation of applied economists and policymakers.

Core Research Areas

💵 Currency Boards

Steve Hanke is the world's foremost authority on currency boards — fixed exchange rate systems that have stabilized economies plagued by inflation and financial instability. His advisory work spans seven countries across three decades.

Key implementations: Bulgaria (1997) · Estonia (1992) · Lithuania (1994) · Bosnia & Herzegovina (1997) · Montenegro (1999)

→ Explore Currency Boards

📈 Hyperinflation

In countries where governments suppress economic data, Hanke's methodology for measuring hyperinflation using black-market exchange rates and PPP models has become the global benchmark. He and Nicholas Krus documented 56 episodes in their landmark 2012 paper; subsequent research has identified 62 total.

Highlighted episodes: Zimbabwe (Nov 2008: 7.96×10¹⁰%) · Venezuela · Hungary (1946)

→ Explore Hyperinflation Research

🌐 Dollarization

Over 37 dollarized regimes currently exist worldwide. Hanke has been at the forefront of advising countries on replacing failing national currencies with stable foreign ones — most notably advising Montenegro in 1999 to replace the hyperinflating Yugoslav dinar with the Deutsche Mark.

→ Explore Dollarization

📚 Free Market Economics

Rooted in the traditions of Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, and the Austrian school, Hanke's free market economics work encompasses privatization, monetary reform, and the case for rules-based over discretionary policy. His 1987 New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics entry on privatization remains a landmark contribution.

→ Explore Free Market Economics

💹 Currency & Commodity Trading

From hedging egg shipments on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as a teenager to advising on global commodity supercycles, Hanke's career bridges academic economics and hands-on market experience. As Chief Economist at Friedberg Mercantile Group, he made landmark calls including the 1985 prediction that crude oil would collapse below $10/barrel — a prediction fully vindicated in 1986.

→ Explore Currency & Commodity Trading

💧 Water Resource Economics

Hanke's earliest and longest-running research area. He conducted the first event study on water meter installation and pioneered PPP methodology for water pricing. He has advised major water utilities globally including Compagnie Générale des Eaux (Veolia) and Compagnie Lyonnaise des Eaux, and directed the Global Water Program at Johns Hopkins.

(Page coming soon)

Research Tools & Indices

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Hanke-Krus World Hyperinflation Table — The definitive catalogue of 62 hyperinflation episodes. Used by central banks, the IMF, and academic researchers worldwide.

Hanke Misery Index — Combines inflation + unemployment + lending rate − GDP growth to produce a composite measure of economic pain. Published annually with country rankings.

Hanke Inflation Satellite — An interactive map tracking real-time inflation estimates for countries with unreliable government data, using black-market exchange rates and PPP methodology. Hosted at the Cato Institute's Troubled Currencies Project.

Hanke-Cofnas Gold Sentiment Report — A proprietary AI-driven tool quantifying market sentiment toward gold in real time, developed with veteran trader Abe Cofnas.

Current Research Focus

Making Money Work (Wiley, 2025)

Hanke's most recent book, co-authored with Matt Sekerke, presents a comprehensive monetarist framework for reforming the global financial system. The book revisits the quantity theory of money, advocates for Divisia monetary aggregates, and proposes rules-based alternatives to discretionary central banking. It represents the culmination of decades of applied monetary research.

"Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon." — Milton Friedman, the animating principle behind Hanke's monetary framework

Current analytical focus areas:

Broad money supply tracking using Divisia aggregates (with William A. Barnett)
State-Money/Bank-Money Analysis (SMBMA) — distinguishing central bank money from commercial bank money
Commodity supercycle analysis: high inflation · low inventories · backwardation · energy transition · geopolitical shocks
Currency board proposals for Iran, Turkey, and other distressed economies

Selected Publications

Making Money Work: How to Rewrite the Rules of Our Financial System (Wiley, 2025, with Matt Sekerke)
Capital, Interest, and Waiting (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024, with Leland B. Yeager)
Did Lockdowns Work? The Verdict on Covid Restrictions (IEA, 2023, with Jonas Herby and Lars Jonung)
Public Debt Sustainability: International Perspectives (2022)
Money in the Great Recession: Did a Crash in Money Growth Cause the Global Slump? (2020, with Tim Congdon)
World Hyperinflations in Routledge Handbook of Major Events in Economic History (2012, with Nicholas Krus)
Currency Boards for Developing Countries: A Handbook (1994, 2nd ed. 2015, with Kurt Schuler)

Hanke's Tools & Indices

🧮 Hanke Inflation Dashboard

A real-time tracker of inflation in countries with unreliable or suppressed government data. Built using black-market exchange rates and PPP methodology. Follow at @steve_hanke on X (Twitter) under #HankeInflationDashboard.

📉 Hanke Misery Index

An alternative economic performance measure: combines inflation, unemployment, and lending rates, minus GDP growth, to measure economic pain across countries.

Recent top-ranked most miserable countries: Venezuela · Syria · Sudan · Lebanon · Argentina

💱 Currency Watch

Ongoing analyses of dollarization prospects and currency reforms in distressed economies. Featured countries include Argentina, Nigeria, Lebanon, and Zimbabwe.