19

Autumn 1914
10415
16

21

UY

£46
291

Autumn

a22 291
“3 2m
24 321
we 283
N94 247
1 227
28 226
1920 225

It will be seen that after the outbreak of the Great War prices at
once began to rise considerably. The increase continued with great
rapidity in 1917 and 1918, while in 1919 it was more gradual; but
in 1920 the highest point is reached at 346 per cent; thereafter there
was some reduction which during 1924 gave way to a new and considerable
 increase. In 1925, however, a decline again set in, and
since 1927 the price-level has remained practically unchanged, at some
125 per cent. above pre-war level.
During the war, wages, though rising preity sharply, were far from
keeping pace with the increase in prices. Tolerably reliable informations
 respecting wages are available only for unskilled workers
and seamen in Reykjavik, and they go to show that wages did not
till 1921 reach the same comparative level as the general percentage
of increase, while thenceforward there has been little decline proportionately
 to the fall in prices. In settling questions of wages some regard
 has, indeed, been had to the cost-of-living index which, however,
has never been allowed to regulate the wages automatically,
Salaries of State officials were fixed by an Act of Althingi in 1919
and on the whole raised somewhat above the pre-war level, though
not nearly to the same extent as prices had by then increased, for it
was believed that the enhancement would not be of long duration, and
that prices would gradually fall. In view of this it was decided that
officials should provisionally enjoy, over and above their statutory
salary, an annual allowance to be fixed according to calculations made
on the basis of the prices of certain specified goods in October
the preceding year. In the case of a salary exceeding 4500 krénur,
no allowance is granted on the portion exceeding the 4500 krénur
limit, and salary and allowance together must not, ‘as a rule, exceed
9500 krénur. According to this the allowance has been as follows:
1920 120 per cent. on salary
1921 1373
1922 91
1923 60
1924 52
19285 78