Inflation & Deflation

Reference 13.1 and 13.2

Aggregate=all together
Aggregate demand and aggregate supply
considers the entire quantity of goods and
services in an economy.
The equilibrium price in aggregate supply
and demand curves is called the price level.
S1

D1

Inflation / Deflation
What is it?
an increase in the price level
a decrease in price level
CPI= Consumer Price Index
How is it determined?
by comparing the CPI in different years and
noting the change
CPI is higher=inflation
CPI is lower=deflation

 Last years CPI (based on 1984 prices)

$216.17
This years CPI
$218.70
Inflation rate
3.82%

Can be caused by
supply-side shifts or demand-side shifts
woohoo!!
more people!!
more money!!

Under what conditions would you expect

to see inflation (rise in price level)?
Inflation can be caused by an increase in aggregate demand
Inflation can be caused by a decrease in aggregate supply

o
gr il
ain

Under what conditions would you expect

to see deflation (fall in price level)?
Deflation can be caused by a decrease in aggregate demand
Deflation can be caused by an increase in aggregate supply

Simple Quantity Theory of Money

If velocity and quantity of output (supply)
are constant, more money in circulation
leads to higher prices.
What does velocity mean?

velocity=the average number of times per year

a dollar is spent to buy final goods

Simple Quantity Theory of Money

If velocity and quantity of output (supply)
are constant, more money in circulation
leads to higher prices.
MxV=PxQ
M = money supply
V = velocity
P = price level
Q = quantity of output

% change M = % change P

Inflation Rates between 1952 and

2008

 Low levels of unemployment are

frequently periods of higher inflation

More working people

with
more money
(increase in aggregate demand)

remember

Monetary Policy?

The goal is to maintain price stability and

low unemployment.

Monetary Policy
Fed is responsible for maintaining price
stability and employment
Expansionary Monetary Policy
goal is to increase money supply
to reduce unemployment
to avoid deflation

Contractionary Monetary Policy

goal is to decrease the money supply
to reduce inflation

So What?
Negative Effects of Inflation
hurts people on fixed incomes (the retired)
hurts savers
hurts lenders (helps debtors)
hurts people who contract to be paid in the future
makes financial decision making more difficult
hedging = avoiding or lessening a loss by taking a
counterbalancing action.
buy gold or some other store of value besides money

So What?
Negative Effects of Deflation
Great Depression!
uneven fall in prices
business failures
job loss

hurts debtors
hurts property-owners

Stagflation
Whats up with that?

stagnant (persistently high) unemployment

and
inflation
1970s US and other industrialized nations experienced stagflation
erratic monetary policy: stop-and-go, on-and-off
supply shocks (OPEC)

Review
What are some possible causes of
inflation?
What are some possible causes of
deflation?
Why is the relationship between
unemployment and inflation usually
inverse?
Why is inflation a problem?

Review
How does the the fed use monetary
policy to control inflation?

Homework
Read Chapter 14 Business Cycles and
Economic Growth pps. 364-386
Complete Review Sections p.386-387
Economics Vocabulary (writing complete sentences)
Review Questions
Analyzing Primary Sources

Be prepared to take a chapter quiz

Todays Exit Pass

In a small group, read 13.3
Unemployment
Section Review p. 359
#1 Definitions
#2-3 (complete sentences)