📚 Learning Guide
Unanticipated Inflation Effects
hard

How does unanticipated inflation primarily affect lenders, considering the impact of demand-pull inflation and menu costs?

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Learning Path
Learning Path

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Choose the Best Answer

A

It decreases the real value of their loans

B

It increases the cost of adjusting prices

C

It leads to higher interest rates for future loans

D

It has no significant effect on their profits

Understanding the Answer

Let's break down why this is correct

Answer

Unanticipated inflation mainly affects lenders because it decreases the real value of the money they get back when borrowers repay their loans. For example, if a lender gives a loan of $1,000 at a fixed interest rate of 5%, but inflation unexpectedly rises to 10%, the money they receive back will buy less than what it could have at the time of the loan. This happens because the purchasing power of the money decreases faster than expected, meaning lenders lose out on the value of their returns. Additionally, lenders may face menu costs, which are the expenses related to changing prices or interest rates in response to inflation, making it more difficult to adjust their strategies quickly. Overall, unanticipated inflation can lead to financial losses and increased uncertainty for lenders.

Detailed Explanation

Unanticipated inflation makes money worth less over time. Other options are incorrect because Some might think inflation raises costs for changing prices; It's a common belief that inflation leads to higher interest rates.

Key Concepts

Lenders
Menu costs
Demand-pull inflation.
Topic

Unanticipated Inflation Effects

Difficulty

hard level question

Cognitive Level

understand

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