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Inflation refers to the phenomenon that under the condition of currency circulation, the actual demand for money is less than the supply of money, that is, the actual purchasing power is greater than the supply of output, which leads to the devaluation of money, which leads to the continuous and general rise of prices for a period of time. Its essence is that the total social supply is less than the total social demand (supply is far less than demand)
In Keynesian economics, the reason is that the change of total supply and total demand in the economy has led to the movement of price level. In monetarist economics, the reason is that when the amount of money circulating in the market exceeds the amount of money needed for circulation, paper money will depreciate, prices will rise, leading to a decline in purchasing power, which is inflation. This theory is summed up as a very famous equation: MV=PT.
Unlike currency devaluation, overall inflation refers to the decline in the value of currency in a specific economy, while currency devaluation refers to the decline in the relative value of currencies among economies. The former affects the currency value used in China, while the latter affects the currency value in the international market. The correlation between them is one of the disputes in economics. Inflated goods refer to "money"
When the prices of most goods and services in an economy continue to rise in different forms (including explicit and implicit) for a period of time, macroeconomics says that the economy is experiencing inflation. According to this explanation, if the price of only one commodity rises, it is not inflation. Only the prices of most goods and services continue to rise.
The explanation of inflation in economics is not completely consistent. It is generally accepted by economists that under the credit currency system, the amount of money in circulation exceeds the actual needs of the economy, leading to currency depreciation and overall and sustained price increases. Generally speaking, the circulation of paper money exceeds the amount needed in circulation, which leads to the devaluation of paper money and the rise of prices. We call this phenomenon inflation.
Price increase in the definition does not refer to the price increase of one or several commodities, nor is it a temporary increase in the price level. Generally speaking, it refers to the continuous and general rise of the price level in a certain period of time, or the continuous decline of the value of money in a certain period of time.