Lesson summary: The costs of inflation (article) | Khan Academy (2024)

In this lesson summary review and remind yourself of the key terms and calculations used in describing the costs of inflation.

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  • Eileen Preston

    6 years agoPosted 6 years ago. Direct link to Eileen Preston's post “What about producers of p...”

    What about producers of products. You produce apples. You sell them. Inflation went up so what does that mean for the producer - will he make more money because apples cost more than the year before?

    (6 votes)

    • melanie

      6 years agoPosted 6 years ago. Direct link to melanie's post “If by "make more" you mea...”

      Lesson summary: The costs of inflation (article) | Khan Academy (4)

      If by "make more" you mean profit, well, that depends. In the short run, an apple producer might benefit from inflation because some of their costs don't change. For example, suppose you hire workers at $10 per hour on a one-year contract. Midway through the year there is inflation so the price of apples increases. IN that case, yes, you might benefit from inflation. In fact, you would even respond to that inflation by producing more.

      But, in the long run, those workers will eventually want higher wages because of inflation. Once all of those costs have also adjusted, the producer doesn't benefit at all any more.

      This is actually covered in a later lesson on something called "Short-run aggregate supply".

      (14 votes)

  • Victor Parmar

    5 years agoPosted 5 years ago. Direct link to Victor Parmar's post “I still did not quite ful...”

    I still did not quite fully understand why 0 inflation, i.e., no change, is a bad thing. Shouldn't this be the ideal goal?

    (4 votes)

  • Patrik Leskovsek

    4 years agoPosted 4 years ago. Direct link to Patrik Leskovsek's post “Game of Thrones question ...”

    Game of Thrones question number 2? :D

    (6 votes)

  • 😊

    5 years agoPosted 5 years ago. Direct link to 😊's post “what is the effect of a r...”

    what is the effect of a rise in unexpected inflation by 5% on the following people; 1 a union member with a wage contract
    2.someone with a large stash of cash in safe deposit
    3.a bank lending money at a fixed interest rate
    4.a person who is not due to receive a pay raise for another 11 months

    (4 votes)

    • JHW624

      8 months agoPosted 8 months ago. Direct link to JHW624's post “My view:⭐Union member wi...”

      My view:
      ⭐Union member with a wage contract: It depends. If the contract includes cost-of-living adjustments or clauses that link wages to inflation, the individual may see their wages increase in response to higher inflation. However, if the contract does not account for unexpected inflation, the purchasing power of their wages may decline, as their income fails to keep up with the rising prices.

      ⭐Individual with a large stash of cash in a safe deposit: As prices rise, the purchasing power of cash diminishes.

      ⭐Bank lending money at a fixed interest rate: The borrower benefits because they are repaying the loan with money that has lower purchasing power due to inflation.

      ⭐Person not due to receive a pay raise for another 11 months: They might experience a decrease in real wages until their next scheduled pay raise, which is 11 months later.

      Hope that helps :)

      (2 votes)

  • Malko_28

    4 years agoPosted 4 years ago. Direct link to Malko_28's post “"Unexpected inflation arb...”

    "Unexpected inflation arbitrarily redistributes wealth from one group to another group, such as from borrowers to lenders."
    This confuses me, as from what I understand, inflation is bad for lenders and good for borrowers... Is this a mistake or a mistype, or have I misunderstood? Thanks!

  • Ethan Lin

    5 years agoPosted 5 years ago. Direct link to Ethan Lin's post “What's the difference in ...”

    What's the difference in fixed rates and variable rate and who does it help or hurt?

    (3 votes)

  • devcdesai

    6 years agoPosted 6 years ago. Direct link to devcdesai's post “It is repeatedly stated t...”

    It is repeatedly stated that 'deflation has devastating effects'. What exactly are the devastating effects? Can someone explain with example? If prices are lesser, people will simply have to borrow lesser, won't that be a good thing?

    (2 votes)

    • Christina

      4 years agoPosted 4 years ago. Direct link to Christina's post “Well prices drop because ...”

      Well prices drop because firms are forced to sell for whatever reason, if they need to liquidate it is likely production will slow as well. possibly even lay off many resulting in high unemployment

      (2 votes)

  • SussannahY

    4 years agoPosted 4 years ago. Direct link to SussannahY's post “Hi I need some help under...”

    Hi I need some help understanding why this answer is correct.

    QUESTION: "Ygritte loaned Mance $900 He agreed to repay her in full, plus 6%percent interest, after one year. When he pays off his loan, Mance discovers he is better off than he had expected to be. Which of the following best describes what must have happened to the rate of inflation?

    ANSWER: "Inflation was higher than he expected
    If the rate of inflation is higher than he expected it to be, then Mance is effectively paying Ygritte back less than he thought he would be paying her."

    I thought if inflation is higher than he expected, it means he pays MORE because a higher inflation % multiplied by his loan = a higher value in total to pay?

    (2 votes)

    • Eirian

      3 years agoPosted 3 years ago. Direct link to Eirian's post “The interest may be fixed...”

      The interest may be fixed. When the inflation rose, what that 6% was worth less than expected. This doesn't mean the amount was changed--only its REAL worth was. Hope this helps!

      (1 vote)

  • Anastasiia Yarychkivska

    4 years agoPosted 4 years ago. Direct link to Anastasiia Yarychkivska's post “Is the "Interest rate" ac...”

    Is the "Interest rate" actually the anticipated rate of inflation?

    (2 votes)

    • Omar Eldesouky

      a year agoPosted a year ago. Direct link to Omar Eldesouky's post “No, although inflation is...”

      No, although inflation is often one of the factors that central banks consider when setting interest rates

      (1 vote)

  • Nathaniel234

    2 years agoPosted 2 years ago. Direct link to Nathaniel234's post “1. If all prices increase...”

    1. If all prices increased at the same rate (i.e., no relative price changes), would inflation have any redistributive effects?

    (1 vote)

    • JHW624

      8 months agoPosted 8 months ago. Direct link to JHW624's post “No, if all prices increas...”

      No, if all prices increased at the same rate without any relative price changes, inflation would not have redistributive effects. In this scenario, the increase in prices would affect everyone uniformly, and the relative purchasing power and wealth distribution among individuals or groups would remain unchanged.

      Hope that helps :)

      (2 votes)

Lesson summary: The costs of inflation (article) | Khan Academy (2024)

FAQs

What is the summarization of inflation? ›

Inflation is the rate of increase in prices over a given period of time. Inflation is typically a broad measure, such as the overall increase in prices or the increase in the cost of living in a country.

What are the costs of inflation explain? ›

Cost of Inflation Definition

With it, your purchasing power weakens and that means in the future your dollar will be worth less and can buy less. Inflation can harm individuals by reducing the value of their money (particularly savings) and shifting the distribution of income to lenders and asset-holders.

What causes inflation at Khan Academy? ›

Loads of other factors can affect inflation rates: changes in the costs of production in the country, whether or not consumer confidence is high, etc. Just think about how a factor would affect prices in the economy and that should tell you how it affects the inflation rate!

What is the answer to inflation? ›

Monetary policy primarily involves changing interest rates to control inflation. Governments through fiscal policy, however, can assist in fighting inflation. Governments can reduce spending and increase taxes as a way to help reduce inflation.

What are the three main causes of inflation? ›

Causes of inflation generally break down into two categories, demand-pull inflation and cost-push inflation. As for current inflation, the main contributing factors include the increase in the money supply, supply chain disruption and fossil fuel policies.

What is the real cause of inflation? ›

Inflation may occur due to increases in production costs associated with raw materials or labor. Higher demand can also lead to inflation. Certain fiscal and monetary policies such as tax cuts or lower interest rates are also potential drivers.

What costs are affected by inflation? ›

Higher food, gasoline, and utility costs mean less money for savings and less for discretionary spending. To compensate, consumers buy less, switch to cheaper substitutes, look harder for bargains, or put off major purchases.

What are the causes and costs of inflation? ›

Monetary policy is a critical driver of inflation over the long term. The current high rate of inflation is a result of increased money supply, high raw materials costs, labor mismatches, and supply disruptions—exacerbated by geopolitical conflict.

Is inflation good or bad? ›

Is Inflation Good Or Bad? Inflation is measured by the consumer price index (CPI), and at low rates, it keeps the economy healthy. But when the rate of inflation rises rapidly, it can result in lower purchasing power, higher interest rates, slower economic growth and other negative economic effects.

What is the cost of living inflation? ›

On average, Americans need an additional $11,434 to afford the same standard of living in October 2023 compared with January 2021 due to inflation. But some states require much more, with the biggest gap in Colorado, at almost $15,000. The differences in costs are tied to local economic differences.

What are the problems with inflation? ›

An overall rise in prices over time reduces the purchasing power of consumers since a fixed amount of money will afford progressively less consumption. Consumers lose purchasing power regardless of what the inflation rate is—whether it's 2% or 4%. This just means that they lose it twice as fast at the higher rate.

How can we stop inflation? ›

For example, the government can help control inflation by ensuring it is getting the best price for its dollars, reducing tariffs that push up the price of goods, ending regulations that boost shipping costs, and encouraging extraction of fossil fuels and production of renewable energy, among other means.

How to reverse inflation? ›

Monetary policy: in monetary policy central bank generally increases the interest rate that reduces investment and economic growth. That reverses the inflation. 2. Money supply: taking money out of the market by central bank affect the consumption and demand, that decreases inflation.

Why do we need inflation? ›

When the economy is not running at capacity, meaning there is unused labor or resources, inflation theoretically helps increase production. More dollars translates to more spending, which equates to more aggregated demand. More demand, in turn, triggers more production to meet that demand.

What are the 5 costs of inflation? ›

There are five costs of inflation: shoeleather costs, menu costs, relative price variability, tax distortions, and confusion, and inconvenience. Shoeleather costs describe the costs people face when reducing their money holdings. Menu costs refer to the costs of changing prices.

What are the costs and benefits of inflation? ›

Inflation is a net positive when it is moderate because it spurs wage growth and investment. High inflation is unsustainable and causes investors to hold onto money as opposed to spending. Low inflation, or worse, deflation, is disastrous for an economy because products are no longer profitable to produce.

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