The sustained decrease in the general price level is called as
- A.deflation
- B.stagflation
- C.devaluation
- D.recession
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, deflation. Deflation is the opposite of inflation: the general price level keeps falling over a period of time.
When prices fall steadily, the purchasing power of money rises, but the effect on the economy is usually harmful. Buyers delay purchases in the hope of lower prices, firms see falling revenue and cut output and jobs, and the real burden of debt goes up, which can trap an economy in a slump. Japan in the 1990s and 2000s is the textbook example. A slowdown in the rate of inflation, where prices still rise but more slowly, is called disinflation and is different from deflation.
B is wrong because stagflation means high inflation together with stagnant growth and high unemployment. C is wrong because devaluation is a deliberate cut in the official value of a country's currency against other currencies. D is wrong because a recession is a fall in economic activity, usually two quarters of falling GDP, not a fall in prices as such.
Exam tip: Inflation = prices rising, disinflation = prices rising more slowly, deflation = prices falling.
Practice Questions
View allWhich one of the following is not a dimension of the Human Development Index?
- A.A long and healthy life
- B.Knowledge
- C.Access to banking and other financial provisions
- D.A decent standard of living
Show answer
The Human Development Index of the UNDP has only three dimensions, and financial access is not one of them.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following are considered to be the four pillars of human development?
- A.Equity, inclusion, productivity and empowerment
- B.Equity, productivity, empowerment and sustainability
- C.Productivity, gender, inclusion and equity
- D.Labour, productivity, inclusion and equity
Show answer
These are the four pillars of human development set out by the economist Mahbub ul Haq, who led the team that prepared the first Human Development Report for the UNDP in 1990, working closely with Amartya Sen.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. A price index captures the change in the average price of a constant basket of commodities.
2. If the price index takes values 100, 110 and 121 in three consecutive years respectively, then the inflation rates in the 2nd and 3rd years are 10% and 21% respectively.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Statement 1 defines a price index correctly, but statement 2 gets the third year's inflation wrong. A price index such as the Consumer Price Index tracks the cost of a fixed basket of goods and services over time, compared with a base year whose value is set at 100.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following is/are social security scheme(s) ?
1. Atal Pension Yojana
2. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana
3. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- A.1 only
- B.2 and 3 only
- C.1, 2 and 3
- D.1 and 3 only
Show answer
All three are social security schemes, launched together by the Government of India on 9 May 2015 to give pension and insurance cover to ordinary people, especially in the unorganised sector.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. GDP deflator captures the average price of an unchanging basket of commodities that constitutes the GDP of the country.
2. GDP deflator can be used to measure the real GDP of the economy but not the inflation rate.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Both statements misdescribe the GDP deflator. The deflator is the ratio of nominal GDP to real GDP, multiplied by 100.
Read the full explanation →