Causes and Consequences of Inflation

Bagus, Philipp and Gabriel, Amadeus and Howden, David (2014): Causes and Consequences of Inflation. Published in: Business and Society Review , Vol. 4, No. 119 (2014): pp. 497-517.

Abstract

While ethical implications of direct taxation systems have recently received renewed attention, a more veiled scheme remains unnoticed: inflation. We overview the causes of inflation and assess its consequences. Salient wealth redistributions are a defining feature of inflation, as savers and fixed income individuals see a relative wealth reduction. While avoiding this “tax” is difficult in many instances due to the primacy of money in a monetary economy, the tax codes of most developed countries allow avoidance techniques to be employed. We analyze three ways that inflation may be avoided in an attempt to preserve personal wealth, as well as the consequences of such practices.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: inflation, taxation, costs of inflation, price stability
• Subjects: E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E3 - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles

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