inflation

Introduction
• Inflation is defined as a sustained increase
in the price level or a fall in the value of
money.
• When the level of currency of a country
exceeds the level of production, inflation
occurs.
• Value of money depreciates with the
occurrence of inflation.

Introduction
• Inflation is commonly understood as a situation of
substantial, and general increase in the level of prices of
goods and services in an economy and a consequent fall in
the value of money over a period of time.
• When the general price level rises, value of money falls and
as such each unit of currency buys fewer goods and
services. Consequently, inflation reflects a reduction in the
purchasing power per unit of money.
• A chief measure of price inflation is the inflation rate
which expresses percentage change in a general price index
(normally the consumer price index) over time.

Mathematically, rate of inflation can be
expresses as

Monetarists’ View
• Monetarists’ View: Monetarists assert that
inflation has always been a monetary
phenomenon. The quantity theory of money,
simply stated, says that any change in the
amount of money in a system will change the
price level.
• This theory begins with the Fisher ’s equation
of exchange:
• MV = PT

Monetarists’ View
Where,
• M represent total quantity of money
• V is velocity of circulation of money (i.e. average
number of time each unit of money is spent for
the purchase of goods and services during a given
time period).
• P represents general price level
• T refers to the total volume of transactions (real
value final goods and services)

Monetarists’ View
• Here MV represents supply of money
• PT represents demand for money.
• By manipulation, 𝑷 = 𝑴𝑽
𝑻
• Assuming V and T as given, price level varies
in directly in proportion to the quantity of
money (M). Thus, if supply of money
increases , there is inflation or rise in prices.

Keyenes’ View
• Inflation occurs when price rises after the
stage of full employment is reached in the
economy, with no corresponding rise in
employment and output.

Definition
• According to C.CROWTHER, “Inflation is
State in which the Value of Money is Falling
and the Prices are rising.”
• In Economics, the Word inflation Refers to
General rise in Prices Measured against a
Standard Level of Purchasing Power.

Definition
• According to classical writers inflation is a
situation when too much money chases too few
goods.
• It is an imbalance between money supply and
Gross Domestic Product.
• As per Keynes inflation is an imbalance
between aggregate demand and aggregate
supply.
• In an economy, if the aggregate demand For
goods and services exceeds aggregate supply, then
Prices will go on rising.

Causes
• Primary causes:
• When demand for a commodity in the
market exceeds its supply, the excess demand
will push up the price (‘demand-pull
inflation’).

Causes
• When factor prices rise, costs of production
rise (‘cost-push inflation’)
• Let us now discuss in detail the various causes
that may bring about inflation.

Various Causes That May Bring
About Inflation.

Various Causes That May Bring
About Inflation

Forms of Inflation
• Inflation may be of different forms, such as—
• Demand Pull Inflation
• When in an economy aggregate demand
exceeds aggregate supply.
• Aggregate demand may increase due to an
increase in money supply, or money income or
public expenditure.
• The idea of demand inflation is associated with
full employment when supply cannot be altered.

Demand Pull Inflation
• In this graph SS and DD are aggregate supply and demand
curves.
• Op and Oq are equilibrium price and equilibrium output.
• Due to exogenous causes demand curves shifts right-wards to
D
• At the current price Op, demand increase by qq
• But supply is Oq.
• Excess demand qq
• Put pressure on price, which gradually rises from Op to Op
• At this price a new equilibrium is achieved where
Demand=Supply.
• The excess demand is eliminated by fall in demand and rise in
supply arising out of rise in price

Cost Push Inflation
• Inflation may originate from supply side
also.
• Aggregate demand remaining unchanged, a
fall in aggregate supply due to exogenous
cause, may lead to increase in price level.

Cost Push Inflation
• In this graph, the starting point is the equilibrium
price(Op)and output (Oq).
• If aggregate supply has fallen, the SS curve shifts
leftward to S
• At price Op now supply will be Oq
• But demand Oq.
• This will push prices high till a new equilibrium is
reached at Op
• At the new price there will be no excess demand.
• Inflation is thus a self limiting phenomenon.

Open Inflation
Open Inflation
• The continuous rise in price level is visible in
the naked eye.
• One can see the annual rate of increase in the
price level.

Galloping Inflation
• Galloping Inflation -: Very Rapid Inflation
which is almost impossible to reduce.

Forms of Inflation
Repressed Inflation
• There is excess demand.
• The excess demand is prevented from increasing
price level by some repressive measures.
• The measures taken by the government like price
control, rationing etc.
Hyper Inflation
• The price level goes on rising at a very fast rate.
• Often there happens hourly increase in price level.
• It often leads to demonetization.

Forms of Inflation
Creeping Inflation
• The price level increases very slowly over a
period of time.
Moderate Inflation
• The rise in price level is neither too fast nor
too slow.

Forms of Inflation
True Inflation
• It takes place after full employment of all factor inputs
in an economy.
• In a situation of full employment, the National output
becomes perfectly inelastic.
• Here more money will lead to higher prices and not more
output.
Semi-Inflation
• A country may experience inflation arising from
bottlenecks, even before full employment.
• There maybe inflationary price rise in some sectors of the
economy.

Impacts of Inflation
• Inflationary pressure in an economy my
generate good effects on the economy,
particularly in case of ‘creeping’ or ‘walking’
inflation.

Favourable Impacts
(a) Higher profits : Profits of the producers are
generally favourably affected by inflation, because
They can sell their products at higher prices.
(b) Higher investment :The entrepreneurs and
investors get added incentives to invest in
productive Activities during inflation, since they can
earn higher prices.
(c) Higher production : If productive investment
grows during inflation, it would lead to higher
Production of various goods and services in the
economy.

Favourable Impacts
(d) Higher employment and income :Increase in the
output of different goods during inflation would
Also mean increasing demand for various factors of
production. So, it is expected that employment And
income opportunities will also increase during
inflation.
(e) Possibility of higher income for the shareholders :
During inflationary periods, if the companies earn
Higher profits, they can declare dividends for their
share-holders. Hence, the dividend income of The
shareholders may also rise during inflation.

Favourable Impacts
(f) Gain for the borrowers :Inflation means a
decrease in the value or purchasing power
of money. If the rate of interest to be paid by
the borrower is less than the inflation rate, the
borrower will gain.
• Because the real value of the money returned
by the borrower is actually less than that of the
Money borrowed earlier.

Unfavourable Impacts
• (a) Fall in the real income of fixed-income groups: Real
income means purchasing power of money income [Real
income = (money income ) / (price level).] Given the money
income of the fixed income groups, the real income will fall
during inflation. Hence, inflation affects workers, salaried
People and pension-earners adversely.
• (b) Inequality in the distribution of income : The profit
incomes of businessmen and entrepreneurs increasing
during inflation while the real income of the common salaried
people declines. So, In equality in the distribution of income
become acute during inflation.

• c) Upsets the planning process : When prices of
goods, materials, and factor services increase
continuously, then more money has to be spent for the
completion of any investment project taken Up during
any planning period. If more financial resources cannot
be raised by the Government (through savings or
taxation), plan targets are to be curtailed.
• (d) Increase in speculative investment :If the price
level rises at a fastrate, speculative investment (say,
purchasing shares, land, gems, etc. just for speculative
purposes )may increase in the economy for earning
quick profits. These types of investments do not help in
the creation of productive Capital in the economy.

• (e) Harmful impact on capital accumulation : If
the price-rise becomes chronic, people prefer
Goods to money (because the real value of money
will fall in future).They also prefer immediate
consumption to consumption in future. So, their
desire to save is reduced. When both ability and
willingness to save become less, a smaller amount of
fund becomes available for further investment.
• As a result, it creates a harmful impact on capital
accumulation, since capital accumulation in an
economy depends on the growth of investment.

• (f) Lenders will lose :We have already
indicated that borrowers will gain during
inflation. Forth is same reason, lenders will lose
during inflation. Because, they are actually
receiving an amount having Lower value(or
purchasing power)than before.
• (g) Harmful impact on export income :If the
prices of export items also increase during
inflation, their Demand in the foreign market
may fall. This leads to a fall in the export income
of a country.

Measures To Control Inflation
• Monetary Measures: Monetary policy refer to polices
adopted by monetary authorities aim at reducing and
absorbing excess supply of money in an economy. the
central bank of the country may exercise various
quantitative and qualitative techniques of credit control
to check inflation. The following are some of the anti-
inflationary monetary measures:
• The volume of currency money may be reduced
either by withdrawing a part of the notes already
issued or by avoiding large scale issue of notes.

Monetary Measures
• Restrictions on bank credits by setting higher cash
reserve ratio
• Increasing bank rate and other interest rates
• Sale of Government securities in the open
market by central bank.
• Prescribing a higher margin that bank and other
lenders must maintain for the loans granted by
them against stocks and shares.
• Regulation of consumers credit
• Rationing of credit etc

Fiscal Measures
• Fiscal measure to control inflation relates to
government policy with respect to its
receipts and expenditure. The following are
some of the important anti-inflationary fiscal
measures:
• Reduction in the volume of public expenditure.
• Rise in the levels of taxes, introduction of new
taxes and bringing more people under the
coverage of taxes.

Fiscal Measures
• More internal borrowings by public authorities
• Postponing the repayment of debt to people
• Control on the volume of deficit financing
Preparation of a surplus budget
• Incentive to savings
• Tariffs should be reduced to increase imports
and thus allow a part of the increased domestic
money income to leak out
• Inducing wage earners to buy voluntarily
government bonds and securities

Direct Or Administrative Measure
• Direct controls refer to the regulatory or
administrative measures taken by the
government directly with an objective of
controlling rise in prices. Some of them are as
follows:

• Expansion in the volume of domestic output so as
to meet the ever increasing rise in the demand for
them
• Direct control of prices and introduction of rationing
• Control of speculative and gambling activities
• Wage -profit freeze by adopting appropriate wage-
profit policy

• Control of population because if population is
controlled, it is possible to keep a check on
demand for goods and services
• Exhortations: Exhortations implies authoritative
persuasions, publicity campaigns, national saving
campaign, requests to trade union to volunteer
resisting demand for rise in wages, to companies
to restrict dividend distributions and to
management to increase productivity and output.

Effects of Inflation on Production and
Distribution of Wealth
Effects on Production:
• Inflation may or may not result in higher
output.
• Below the full employment stage, inflation has a
favourable effect on production.
• In general, profit is arising function of the price
level.
• An inflationary situation gives an incentive to
businessmen to raise prices of their products so
as to Earn higher doses of profit.

Effects on Production
• Such a favourable effect of inflation will be
temporary if wages and production costs rise
very rapidly.
• Inflationary situation may be associated with
the fall in output, particularly if inflation is of
the cost- Push variety.
• There is no strict relationship between prices
and output.
• An increase in aggregate demand will increase
both prices and output, but a supply shock will
Raise prices and lower output.

Effects of Inflation on Production

Effects of Inflation on Production and
Distribution of Wealth
• Effects on Distribution of Wealth:
• During inflation, usually people experience rise
in incomes.
• Some people gain during inflation at the
expense of others.
• Some individuals gain because their money
incomes rise more rapidly than the prices
• Some lose because prices rise more rapidly than
their incomes during inflation.

Effects of Inflation on Production
and Distribution of Wealth

The following categories of people
are affected by inflation differently

The following categories of people are
affected by inflation differently

How Is Inflation Measured?
The 2 ways of Measuring Inflation are :-

References
• Engineering Economic Analysis –NPTEL
http://nptel.ac.in/courses/112107209/
• Engineering Economics
http://www.inzeko.ktu.lt/index.php/EE
• Fundamentals of Economics and Management
Institutes of Cost Accountants of India www.icmai.in
• Modern Economics : Dr. H. L. Ahuja
• Principles for Macro-economics- C Rangarajan

inflation

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