[This is part of the series: The Complete Guide To Economics 101.]
What is inflation?
Inflation is simple, really.
Inflation is an overall increase in prices.
Or, conversely – inflation is an overall fall in the purchasing power of a currency.
What causes inflation, you ask?
Well, that is the insidious part of it all, for we do it to ourselves.
Inflation is caused by the government printing too much money, relative to the amount of goods and services in the economy.
Examples of high inflation include 1920’s Germany, 2008 in Zimbabwe, and 2016 Venezuela.
For the most comprehensive source ever, see EconLib.org.