국가전략정보포털

Title page

Contents

Summary 2

Introduction 5

What Is Inflation? 6

Costs of Inflation 7

Costs of Anticipated vs. Unanticipated Inflation 7

Distributional Costs 8

Optimal Level of Inflation 9

What Causes Inflation? 9

Demand-Pull Inflation 10

The Role of Monetary Policy in Responding to Inflation 10

Cost-Push Inflation 11

Expectations 12

Inflation Trends 13

"Great Inflation" 13

Wars 15

1980s-2020 16

Recent High Inflation 18

Potential Causes of Current Inflation 19

Roots in Pandemic Disruptions 19

Fiscal and Monetary Stimulus in the Pandemic 21

Fiscal Policy 21

Monetary Policy 25

Supply Disruptions in 2022 27

The Post-Pandemic Labor Market 29

Demand in 2022 31

Policy Options for Congress 32

Removing Fiscal and Monetary Stimulus 32

The Federal Reserve and Interest Rates 33

Targeting Supply Chains 34

Income Relief Policies 35

Corporate Profits 36

Trade Liberalization 36

Historical Policies 37

Price Controls 37

Whip Inflation Now 38

Humphrey-Hawkins Act 39

Credit Controls 39

Author Information 39

Disclaimer 40

Table 1. Timing of Fiscal Stimulus 22

Figure 1. Annual Inflation, 1960-1983 13

Figure 2. Annual Inflation, 1939-1959 16

Figure 3. Annual Inflation, 1984-2020 17

Figure 4. Deficit-to-GDP Ratio 23

Figure 5. Job Openings vs. Workers 30