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by jartelt 1829 days ago
The distinction is important when you think about how and whether or not to combat the issue. If general prices are rising due to runaway inflation and rising wages (like in the US in the 70s), then the central bank knows it can raise interest rates to help slow things down. If prices of a few assets like used cars, cargo, or hand sanitizer are rising because of temporary shortages, raising interest rates is not going to do much.