In economics, inflation is a fall in the market value or purchasing power of money. This is equivalent to a sustained increase in the general level of prices. Inflation is the opposite of deflation. The term is applied to a given economic region in which a currency is used, however it may apply to smaller or larger regions also.

In some contexts the term inflation is used to refer to an increase in the money supply, although this concept is also often referred to as monetary expansion. There is some dispute between different economic schools of thought as to which of these is "real" inflation, for prices of goods and services in the currency in question to rise, or for the money supply to increase. These differing definitions (see polysemes) of inflation relate to whether it is viewed as a certain economic process, or if it merely is used to refer to a particular set of economic symptoms that result from underlying processes. Both forms of usage of the term are reasonably common.

Price inflation is closely akin to "cost of living" measurement, where a "basket" of consumer goods is used as a standard and the prices of the goods are compared at two intervals and adjusting for changes in the intrinsic basket. But, technically, this is not raw inflation; it is an attempt to determine real-life value of money compared to the members of the society in question, adding other factors like increased expectations.

More on [ Inflation ]

Inflation - Twitter Search

RT @travisbme: RT @exNavyPilot: If inflation continues to soar, you're going to have to work like a dog just to live like one. George Gobel
hmerkle (Hank Merkle) Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:13:39 -0000
RT @travisbme: RT @exNavyPilot: If inflation continues to soar, you're going to have to work like a dog just to live like one. George Gobel
Investors Bet on Resurgence of Inflation http://bit.ly/4X1iI6
TheBUENetwork (Bid UR Energy) Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:03:22 -0000
Investors Bet on Resurgence of Inflation http://bit.ly/4X1iI6
Fears of an inflation surge grow: Daily Mail By Daily Mail Reporter Worries about the risk of an inflationary upsur... http://bit.ly/8GAg0h
vectracap (Larry William) Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:59:01 -0000
Fears of an inflation surge grow: Daily Mail By Daily Mail Reporter Worries about the risk of an inflationary upsur... http://bit.ly/8GAg0h
Investors Bet on Rise of Inflation http://bit.ly/8Jfhja
Pegg02 (Robert Pegg) Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:53:34 -0000
Investors Bet on Rise of Inflation http://bit.ly/8Jfhja
Biz Point: Investors Bet on Resurgence of Inflation - Wall Street Journal (http://cli.gs/ayb52)
jbusinesspoint (Business Point) Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:43:54 -0000
Biz Point: Investors Bet on Resurgence of Inflation - Wall Street Journal (http://cli.gs/ayb52)
Interview With Paul Volcker, the Man Who Killed Inflation http://bit.ly/4nGyuE
RealEconomy (The Real Economist) Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:40:50 -0000
Interview With Paul Volcker, the Man Who Killed Inflation http://bit.ly/4nGyuE

Subscribe to Inflation RSS feed