Inflation
13 cards from across every topic, each citing a source. Tap one to open it in the feed.
- 3% interest can still be a loss.
The nominal rate is the number the bank advertises. The real rate is nominal rate minus inflation, and only it tells …
- A 3% raise can be a pay cut.
The nominal wage is the number on your payslip; the real wage is what it buys. If you get a 3% raise while prices rise …
- At 2% inflation your money is worth half in 35 years.
Inflation means a basket of goods costs more every year. Even at a moderate 2% per year, a €100 note loses half its …
- Falling prices sound great. Economists fear them more than inflation.
If everything is cheaper tomorrow, you postpone buying. Firms sell less, cut prices, cut jobs, and everyone waits even …
- How statisticians turn thousands of prices into one inflation number.
Statistical offices record the prices of hundreds of goods and services every month, from bread to haircuts. Each …
- In 1923 a loaf cost billions. More in the afternoon than the morning.
In November 1923 one US dollar cost 4.2 trillion marks. Wages were paid daily because money lost value by evening. The …
- Inflation has two engines, and they need different brakes.
Demand-pull inflation happens when too much money chases too few goods, for instance after stimulus packages. Cost-push …
- New money doesn't enrich everyone equally. It reaches some first.
Richard Cantillon described in the 18th century: newly created money first reaches banks, the state and the wealthy …
- The pack costs the same, there's just less inside.
Shrinkflation is a hidden price increase: instead of raising the price, the maker reduces the contents. 200 g becomes …
- Why the ECB wants inflation, just not too much of it.
The European Central Bank aims for 2% inflation over the medium term, not 0%. A small buffer prevents prices from …
- Your pay rarely gets cut. It gets frozen instead.
When a company struggles, it rarely lowers wages. In wage data from 16 countries, researchers found a striking pile-up …
- Your raise matches inflation and the state still takes more.
If wages rise with inflation while the brackets of a progressive tax schedule stay put, you slide into higher zones …
- €10,000 under the mattress is worth €6,730 in 20 years.
Purchasing power is the amount of goods a sum of money buys. At 2% inflation per year, prices rise by a factor of 1.49 …