In the world of economics, inflation is a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money.
Economists regularly measure inflation to access the state of the economy. Cost-push inflation occurs when supplies force prices higher. In inflation caused by rising grain prices during a poor harvest is an example of cost-push inflation as harvests are not sufficient to meet demand. Demand-pull inflation happens when demand increases faster than supplies. When too much money chases too few goods, inflationary pressures increase. Double-digit economic growth in China caused the price of copper to