Once upon a time, there was this epidemic that people were suffering from all over the world. People called it "inflation." Three causes were determined for its emergence. One was demand-pull. This happened when too many people were wanting too much of everything at the same time. The other was cost-push. This happened when everything was costing everyone too much. The third cause of the ailment was excess liquidity. This was when your central bank was printing too many notes too quickly.
By the final decade of the 20th century, people started believing the human race had triumphed over this particular disease. It became fashionable to proclaim the death of inflation. A few years into the 21st century, however, it is beginning to look as though the menace is coming back. Or is it?
You would expect a typical economist's non-answer to be "Yes. And No." And you would be right. Yet, for once, this actually may not be quite such a non-answer.
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