ABSTRACT
In recent years government polices and regulations that restrain competition, protect (or even create) private monopolies, restrict production, and raise or fix prices have come under closer scrutiny. Economists have unearthed and described dozens of such cases. Phasing out these restrictions and changing these policies would go a long way toward making the economy more competitive and flexible than it is now, thus making macroeconomic recovery and anti-inflation policies more effective. This chapter discusses the different cases starting with what is often called the “classical” case of demand inflation, and cost-or wage-push inflation, “special supply-reducing factors,” and international aspects (“imported inflation”). Actually the different factors usually operate concurrently. Demand and cost inflation are especially difficult to separate, but it is sometimes possible to find periods when the one or the other factor was dominant.
