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THE NATURE AND ROLE OF DEFLATION IN PRE-CAPITALIST ECONOMIES: THE EXAMPLE OF THE ANCIENT ROME

A. Valerov, B. Sokolov, N. Didenko

Abstract

Brief description of the study and used methods. Brief description of the study and used methods. Brief description of the study and used methods. Brief description of the study and used methods. Brief description of the study and used methods. /Times New Roman, 12/ The paper studies the specifics of the functioning of the ancient Roman monetary system in the period of the late Republic and the early Empire. As a result of the expansion of the economic space that was due to the large conquests, disparities arose between the material needs of different strata of population and the actual production capacities of the Roman agrarian-oriented economy. The gap between the economies of the city and the countryside was accompanied by a process of intensive commodification of agricultural products, which, under the prevailing conditions of metal monetary circulation, led to a dynamic lag in market prices from the quantity of the commodity supply. An important reason for the development of the deflationary process was also the low level of monetization of the leading sectors of rural and urban economy. Where private landowners received a fixed monetary rent, the drop in market prices became a factor that created the effect of more profit. For the compelled to pay rents and taxes in cash of tenants and other legally free farmers the decline in prices for products, as a rule, resulted in a decrease in incomes and an increase in debt. In turn, this served as a prerequisite for the emergence of relations of personal dependence and the transition from the cash form of rent-seeking to working off. For a long time, deflation remained a characteristic feature of the ancient Roman economy, having an impact on the institutional development of the monetary system, public and private finances, economic relations and the social status of certain categories of the population.

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