Keyword: «inflation / deflation»

The author analyzes the relationship between price dynamics and real GDP dynamics. In the short-term periods of economic development, such a relationship is not obvious. That is why the author considers a very long historical period (200 years, broken down into four 50-year periods). In American economic history, these periods differ substantially. During this time, the US economy has evolved from self-regulating on the basis of market interdependencies to externally regulated with the help of tools of conscious influence on the main macroeconomic proportions. 50-year periods differ both in the dynamics of prices and in the dynamics of real GDP. In general, in the 19th century, the American economy developed more dynamically. In the 20th century, starting in the 1950s, the growth rate of real GDP began to increase as a result of inflationary “warming up”. However, they have not reached the indicators of the previous century. In addition, the conscious use of inflation to accelerate economic growth is possible only through the active use of debt financing. The article shows that this logic of economic development leads to deflation, accompanied by a sharp decrease in real GDP growth. The Japanese economy is used as an example.