©2005 South-Western College Publishing Inflation Key Concepts Summary ©2005 South-Western College Publishing

What will I study in this chapter? You will study how the government actually measures changes in the price level, computes the rate of inflation, and the consequences and root causes of inflation.

What is inflation? An increase in the general (average) price level of goods and services in the economy

What is deflation? A decrease in the general (average) price level of goods and services in the economy

What is the most widely reported measure of inflation? The Consumer Price Index

What is the Consumer Price Index? The CPI is an index that measures changes in the average prices of consumer goods and services

Who reports the CPI? The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the Department of Labor

How is the CPI calculated? Price collectors contact retail stores, homeowners, and tenants in selected cities in the U.S. monthly

Which goods and services are included in the CPI? The BLS records average prices for a “market basket” of different items purchased by the typical urban family

Composition of the CPI Food 13.2% Housing 32.7% Apparel 4.3% Transportation Medical Care Entertainment Insurance and pensions All other goods 13.2% 32.7% 4.3% 19.1% 5.8% 5.1% 5.3% 4.8%

Does the makeup of the CPI change? As people’s tastes and preferences change, some of the goods and services that go into the basket change

How is the CPI computed? Current year prices are compared to prices of a similar basket of goods and services in a base year

What is a base year? A year chosen as a reference point for comparison with some earlier or later year

Why is the CPI always 100 in the base year? The numerator and the denominator of the CPI formula are the same in the base year

*CYP = cost of the market basket of products at current-year prices *BYP = cost of the market basket of products at base-year prices CYP BYP X 100 CPI =

How is the inflation rate computed? The annual inflation rate is computed as the percentage change in the official CPI from one year to the next

CPI - CPIPY X 100 ARI = CPIPY *ARI = Annual rate of inflation *CPIY = Consumer price index in given year *CPIPY = Consumer price index in previous year CPI - CPIPY CPIPY X 100 ARI =

The U.S. Inflation Rate 1929 - 2002 20 16 12 8 4 -4 -8 -12 1930 40 50 60 70 80 90 00

What is disinflation? A reduction in the rate of inflation

What are some criticisms of the CPI? It can overstate or understate the impact of inflation for certain groups Does not measure quality Substitutes are ignored

What does inflation do to people’s income? A general rise in prices will shrink people’s income

What is nominal income? The actual number of dollars received over a period of time

What is real income? The actual number of dollars received (nominal income) adjusted for changes in the CPI

NI CPI RI = *RI = Real income *NI = Nominal income *CPI = CPI as a decimal or CPI ÷ 100 NI CPI RI =

%  in nominal income _ %  in CPI %  in real income =

What is wealth? The value of the stock of assets owned at some point in time

How is wealth affected by inflation? Inflation can benefit holders of wealth because the value of their assets tends to increase as prices rise

What will cause your real income to decline? The rate of inflation is greater than your rate of income

How does inflation affect borrowers and savers? They can win or lose depending on the rate of inflation and interest

What is the interest rate? Interest per year as a percentage of the amount loaned or lent

What is the nominal interest rate? The actual rate of interest earned over a period of time

What is the real interest rate? The nominal rate of interest minus the inflation rate

What are the two basic types of inflation? Demand-pull Cost-push

What is demand-pull inflation? A rise in the general price level resulting from an excess of total spending (demand)

When does demand-pull inflation occur? When the economy is operating at or near full employment

What is cost-push inflation? A rise in the general price level resulting from an increase in the cost of production

What can cause cost-push inflation? Cost increases for labor, raw materials, construction, equipment, borrowing etc.

Do people’s expectations affect inflation? Yes, expectations can influence both demand-pull and cost-push inflation

What is hyperinflation? An extremely rapid rise in the general price level

What is a wage-price spiral? A situation that occurs when increases in nominal wage rates are passed on in higher prices, which, in turn, result in even higher nominal wages and prices

How does the U.S. inflation rate compare with other countries? It is lower than some and higher than others

Key Concepts

What is inflation? What is the Consumer Price Index? Which goods and services are included in the CPI? How is the CPI computed? What is a base year? How is the inflation rate computed? What is disinflation?

What does inflation do to people’s income? What is nominal income? What is real income? What is wealth? How is wealth affected by inflation? How does inflation affect borrowers and savers? What are the two basic types of inflation?

What is demand-pull inflation? What is cost-push inflation? Do people’s expectations affect inflation? What is hyperinflation? How does the U.S. inflation rate compare with other countries?

Summary

Inflation is an increase in the general (average) price level of goods and services in the economy.

The consumer price index (CPI) is the most widely known price-level index. It measures the cost of purchasing a market basket of goods and services by a typical household during a time period relative to the cost of the same bundle during a base year.

The annual rate of inflation is computed using the following formula:

CPI - CPIPY X 100 ARI = CPIPY *ARI = Annual rate of inflation *CPIY = Consumer price index in given year *CPIPY = Consumer price index in previous year CPI - CPIPY CPIPY X 100 ARI =

Deflation is a decrease in the general level of prices Deflation is a decrease in the general level of prices. During the early years of the Great Depression, there was deflation.

Disinflation is a reduction in the inflation rate Disinflation is a reduction in the inflation rate. Between 1980 and 1986, there was disinflation. This does not mean that prices were falling, but only that the inflation rate fell.

The inflation rate is criticized because (1) it is not representative, (2) it incorrectly adjusts for quality changes, and (3) it ignores the relationship between price changes and the importance of items in the market basket.

Nominal income is income measured in actual money amounts Nominal income is income measured in actual money amounts. Measuring your purchasing power requires converting nominal income into real income, which is nominal income adjusted for inflation.

The real interest rate is the nominal interest rate adjusted for inflation. If real interest rates are negative, lenders incur losses.

%  in nominal income _ %  in CPI %  in real income =

Demand-pull inflation is caused by by pressure on prices originating from the buyers side of the market.

Cost-push inflation is caused by pressure on prices originating from the seller's side of the market.

Hyperinflation can seriously disrupt an economy by causing inflation psychosis, credit market collapses, a wage-price spiral, and speculation.

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