Readers Question: Is rise in prices a reflection of economic growth? A sustained rise in prices is known as inflation. A large rise in prices / higher inflation rate is often caused by economic growth. However, there are also occasions, when we can get inflation despite weak or negative economic growth. Inflation caused by economic …
Readers Question: How does an increase in imports cause inflation in the economy? If the quantity of imports increases, this should reduce domestic demand-pull inflation (AD = C+I+G+X-M). Therefore if consumers spend more on imports it will, ceteris paribus, reduce domestic demand. Therefore, we get lower growth of AD and lower inflation. Suppose there is an …
Nearly all economists advise keeping inflation low. Low inflation contributes towards economic stability – which encourages saving, investment, economic growth, and helps maintain international competitiveness. Governments usually target an inflation rate of around 2%. This moderate but low rate of inflation is considered the best compromise between avoiding the costs of inflation but also avoiding …
Readers Question: What is the cause of deflation? Deflation involves a fall in the price level – a negative rate of inflation. From a very basic standpoint, there are two main potential causes of deflation: A fall in aggregate demand (AD) A shift to the right of aggregate supply (AS) – i.e. lower costs of …
Monetarists argue that if the Money Supply rises faster than the rate of growth of national income, then there will be inflation. If the money supply increases in line with real output then there will be no inflation. M.Friedman stated: “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon in the sense that it is and …
The 1929 stock market crash was a result of an unsustainable boom in share prices in the preceding years. The boom in share prices was caused by the irrational exuberance of investors, buying shares on the margin, and over-confidence in the sustainability of economic growth. Some economists argue the boom was also facilitated by ‘loose …
A look at the extent to which policy makers face a trade off between unemployment and inflation. The Phillips curve suggests there is a trade off between inflation and unemployment, at least in the short term. Other economists are more sceptical.
Readers Question: In finance and economics, there are such things as “bubbles” in the economy. And when bubbles start forming, it normally isn’t a good thing. My question is, how many different kinds of “bubbles” are there? Such as the property bubble or stock market bubble. And how do they form and what are their …