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Hyperinflation in Venezuela

Tim Harford on the astonishing speed of price rises in Venezuela, and whether teenagers’ screen use affects their well-being.

The inflation rate in Venezuela will reach 10 million per cent in 2019, according to the International Monetary Fund. But is that correct, and how does the situation compare to other episodes of hyperinflation in history? Tim Harford speaks to professor Steve Hanke, professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University in the US, and Mariana Zuniga, a journalist based in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

And how worried do you need to be about the time your child spends looking at their phone or tablet? It’s often reported that screen use has a detrimental impact on the well-being of young people, but a huge new statistical analysis puts this into doubt. Tim Harford speaks to Amy Orben of Oxford University.

Producer: Ruth Alexander

(Photo: A woman holds new Bolivar notes in Caracas on August 2018. Credit: Federico Parra/Getty Images)

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9 minutes

Last on

Tue 12 Feb 2019 02:50GMT

Broadcasts

  • Mon 11 Feb 2019 13:50GMT
  • Tue 12 Feb 2019 02:50GMT

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