Costs of Inflation · 通货膨胀的成本
| English | 中文 | Pinyin · 拼音 |
|---|---|---|
| anticipated/ænˈtɪsɪpeɪtɪd/ | 预期到的 | yù qī dào de |
| unanticipated/ʌnænˈtɪsɪpeɪtɪd/ | 未预期到的 | wèi yù qī dào de |
| lenders/ˈlendəz/ | 放款人 | fàng kuǎn rén |
| interest/ˈɪntrest/ | 利息 | lì xī |
| redistributes purchasing power/ˌriːˈdɪstrɪbjuːts ˈpɜːtʃɪsɪŋ ˈpaʊə/ | 重新分配购买力 | chóng xīn fēn pèi gòu mǎi lì |
| borrowers/ˈbɒrəʊəz/ | 借款人 | jiè kuǎn rén |
| menu costs/ˈmenjuː kɒsts/ | 菜单成本 | cài dān chéng běn |
| shoe-leather costs/ʃuː ˈleðə kɒsts/ | 皮鞋成本 | pí xié chéng běn |
| savings/ˈseɪvɪŋz/ | 储蓄 | chǔ xù |
| pension/ˈpenʃn/ | 养老金 | yǎng lǎo jīn |
| hyperinflation/ˌhaɪpərɪnˈfleɪʃn/ | 恶性通货膨胀 | è xìng tōng huò péng zhàng |
Inflation picks winners and losers
- Inflation doesn't hurt everyone equally — and some people even gain.
- The key is whether people saw it coming.
- A surprise inflation quietly moves wealth from one group to another.
- Understanding who wins and who loses is the heart of this topic.
通货膨胀有赢家也有输家
- 通货膨胀不会平等地伤害每个人——有些人甚至获益。
- 关键在于人们是否预见到了它。
- 意外的通胀悄悄把财富从一个群体转移到另一个群体。
- 弄懂谁赢谁输,是这个主题的核心。
Anticipated vs unanticipated
- Anticipated 预期到的 inflation is expected, so people plan — workers ask for raises, lenders charge higher interest 利息. The harm is small.
- Unanticipated 未预期到的 inflation is a surprise that cannot be planned for.
- A surprise redistributes purchasing power 重新分配购买力 between borrowers 借款人 and lenders 放款人.
- Borrowers gain (they repay with cheaper money); lenders lose (the dollars back buy less).
预期到的 vs 未预期到的
- 预期到的(anticipated)通胀是被预料到的,所以人们会计划——工人要求加薪,放款人收取更高的利息(interest)。危害很小。
- 未预期到的(unanticipated)通胀是无法计划的意外。
- 意外通胀在借款人(borrowers)和放款人(lenders)之间重新分配购买力(redistributes purchasing power)。
- 借款人获益(用更不值钱的钱还款);放款人受损(收回的钱买得更少)。
Who gains, who loses? · 谁获益,谁受损?
Unanticipated inflation helps borrowers and hurts lenders and cash savers, and adds real costs like menu and shoe-leather costs. · 未预期的通胀帮助借款人,伤害放款人和持现金的储蓄者,并带来菜单成本、皮鞋成本等真实成本。
Which kind of inflation does the least harm, because people can plan for it? · 哪种通胀危害最小,因为人们能为它做计划?
When inflation is expected, workers and lenders build it into wages and interest rates. · 当通胀被预料到,工人和放款人会把它计入工资和利率。
Unexpected inflation tends to: · 意外通胀往往:
Borrowers repay with money worth less; lenders get back dollars that buy less. · 借款人用更不值钱的钱还款;放款人收回的钱买得更少。
The running costs
- Menu costs 菜单成本 — the effort of changing prices: reprinting menus, tags, and catalogues.
- Shoe-leather costs 皮鞋成本 — holding less cash and making more trips to the bank, because cash loses value.
- Inflation also erodes savings 储蓄 held as cash and fixed incomes like a pension 养老金.
运行成本
- 菜单成本(menu costs)——改价格的功夫:重印菜单、标签和目录。
- 皮鞋成本(shoe-leather costs)——持有更少现金、更频繁跑银行,因为现金会贬值。
- 通胀还侵蚀以现金持有的储蓄(savings)和像养老金(pension)这样的固定收入。
The cost of reprinting menus, tags, and catalogues when prices change is called ______ costs. · 价格变化时重印菜单、标签和目录的成本,叫做______成本。
Menu costs are the real effort of updating posted prices during inflation. · 菜单成本是通胀期间更新标价的真实功夫。
Select all · 所有 real costs that inflation imposes. · 选出通胀带来的所有真实成本。
Menu costs, shoe-leather costs and eroded savings are real harms; inflation does not raise real output. · 菜单成本、皮鞋成本和被侵蚀的储蓄是真实的伤害;通胀不会提高实际产出。
When inflation runs wild
- Worked idea. You lend 1,000 at 5%, expecting 1,050 back. But surprise inflation is 8%, so the 1,050 buys about $1{,}050 / 1.08 \approx 972$ — less than you lent.
- You (the lender) lost; your friend (the borrower) gained.
- At the extreme, hyperinflation 恶性通货膨胀 (often over 50% per month) makes money almost worthless.
- People rush to spend, savings vanish, and confidence in money collapses.
当通胀失控时
- 例题。 你以 5% 借出 1,000,期望收回 1,050。但意外通胀是 8%,所以 1,050 只能买到大约 $1{,}050 / 1.08 \approx 972$——比你借出的还少。
- 你(放款人)亏了;你朋友(借款人)赚了。
- 在极端情况下,恶性通货膨胀(hyperinflation,常常每月超过 50%)让钱几乎一文不值。
- 人们抢着花钱,储蓄化为乌有,对货币的信心崩溃。
You expect 1,050 back on a loan, but inflation is 8%. In real terms the 1,050 buys about 1,050 ÷ 1.08 = how much? (round to the nearest dollar) · 你期望一笔贷款收回 1,050,但通胀是 8%。以实际计,1,050 约买到 1,050 ÷ 1.08 = 多少?(取整到最接近的整数)
1,050 ÷ 1.08 ≈ 972 — less than the 1,000 you lent, so the lender loses. · 1,050 ÷ 1.08 ≈ 972——比你借出的 1,000 还少,所以放款人受损。
Under hyperinflation, people tend to spend money quickly because it loses value fast. · 在恶性通货膨胀下,人们往往迅速花钱,因为钱贬值很快。
Money loses value so fast that holding it is a loss — so people rush to spend it. · 钱贬值太快,持有它就是损失——所以人们抢着花掉。
Anticipated inflation does little harm; unanticipated inflation redistributes wealth — borrowers gain, lenders lose. It adds menu and shoe-leather costs and erodes cash savings. At the extreme, hyperinflation destroys the value of money.
预期到的通胀危害不大;未预期到的通胀重新分配财富——借款人获益,放款人受损。它带来菜单成本和皮鞋成本,并侵蚀现金储蓄。在极端情况下,恶性通货膨胀摧毁货币的价值。