Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Deflation
Deflation is a sustained decrease in the general price level of goods and services.
Deflation occurs when the annual inflation rate falls below zero percent, resulting in an increase in the real value of money — a negative inflation rate. This should not be confused with disinflation, a slow-down in the inflation rate (i.e. when the inflation decreases, but still remains positive).
Inflation reduces the real value of money over time, conversely, deflation increases the real value of money.
Currently, mainstream economists generally believe that deflation is a problem in a modern economy because of the danger of a deflationary spiral.
Deflation is also linked with recessions and with the Great Depression. Additionally, deflation also prevents monetary policy from stabilizing the economy because of a mechanism called the liquidity trap. However, historically not all episodes of deflation correspond with periods of poor economic growth[
Inflation
Inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.
When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation is also a decline in the real value of money—a loss of purchasing power in the medium of exchange which is also the monetary unit of account in the economy.
A chief measure of general price-level inflation is the general inflation rate, which is the percentage change in a general price index (normally the Consumer Price Index) over time.
Inflation can have adverse effects on an economy. For example, uncertainty about future inflation may discourage investment and saving. High inflation may lead to shortages of goods if consumers begin hoarding out of concern that prices will increase in the future.
Inflation originally referred to the debasement of the currency. When gold was used as currency, gold coins could be collected by the government (e.g. the king or the ruler of the region), melted down, mixed with other metals such as silver, copper or lead, and reissued at the same nominal value.
By diluting the gold with other metals, the government could increase the total number of coins issued without also needing to increase the amount of gold used to make them. When the cost of each coin is lowered in this way, the government profits from an increase in seigniorage.
This practice would increase the money supply but at the same time lower the relative value of each coin. As the relative value of the coins decrease, consumers would need more coins to exchange for the same goods and services. These goods and services would experience a price increase as the value of each coin is reduced
When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation is also a decline in the real value of money—a loss of purchasing power in the medium of exchange which is also the monetary unit of account in the economy.
A chief measure of general price-level inflation is the general inflation rate, which is the percentage change in a general price index (normally the Consumer Price Index) over time.
Inflation can have adverse effects on an economy. For example, uncertainty about future inflation may discourage investment and saving. High inflation may lead to shortages of goods if consumers begin hoarding out of concern that prices will increase in the future.
Inflation originally referred to the debasement of the currency. When gold was used as currency, gold coins could be collected by the government (e.g. the king or the ruler of the region), melted down, mixed with other metals such as silver, copper or lead, and reissued at the same nominal value.
By diluting the gold with other metals, the government could increase the total number of coins issued without also needing to increase the amount of gold used to make them. When the cost of each coin is lowered in this way, the government profits from an increase in seigniorage.
This practice would increase the money supply but at the same time lower the relative value of each coin. As the relative value of the coins decrease, consumers would need more coins to exchange for the same goods and services. These goods and services would experience a price increase as the value of each coin is reduced
Floating Currency
A floating currency is contrasted with a fixed currency.
A floating currency is a currency that uses a floating exchange rate as its exchange rate regime.
In the modern world, the majority of the world's currencies are officially but not really floating, including the most widely traded currencies: the United States dollar, the Japanese yen, the euro, the British pound and the Australian dollar.
The Canadian dollar most closely resembles the ideal floating currency[citation needed], as that their central bank has not interfered with its price since it officially stopped doing so in 1998. The United States is a close second with very little changes in its foreign reserves; by contrast, Japan and the UK continually interfere with the prices of their respective currencies.
From 1946 to the early 1970s, the Bretton Woods system made fixed currencies the norm; however, in 1971, the United States government abandoned the gold standard, so that the US dollar was no longer a fixed currency, and most of the world's currencies followed suit.
A floating currency is one where targets other than the exchange rate itself are used to administer monetary policy. See open market operations.
A floating currency is a currency that uses a floating exchange rate as its exchange rate regime.
In the modern world, the majority of the world's currencies are officially but not really floating, including the most widely traded currencies: the United States dollar, the Japanese yen, the euro, the British pound and the Australian dollar.
The Canadian dollar most closely resembles the ideal floating currency[citation needed], as that their central bank has not interfered with its price since it officially stopped doing so in 1998. The United States is a close second with very little changes in its foreign reserves; by contrast, Japan and the UK continually interfere with the prices of their respective currencies.
From 1946 to the early 1970s, the Bretton Woods system made fixed currencies the norm; however, in 1971, the United States government abandoned the gold standard, so that the US dollar was no longer a fixed currency, and most of the world's currencies followed suit.
A floating currency is one where targets other than the exchange rate itself are used to administer monetary policy. See open market operations.
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