Tyler Cowen, Columnist
The creation of a new currency ended a decade of punishing hyperinflation, although Brazil has since made new problems for itself.
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Tyler Cowen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, a professor of economics at George Mason University and host of the Marginal Revolution blog.
This month marks the 30th anniversary of the Brazilian real, a significant achievement that illuminates both the promise and the limits of reform.
On one hand, the creation of the new currency was a success. I recall visiting Rio de Janeiro in the early 1990s and experiencing hyperinflation. I tried to hold most of my money in dollars; if I came into possession of some Brazilian currency, then called the Cruzeiro Real, I made sure to spend it right away. In 1990, the rate of inflation in Brazil was 2,948%.
