The Inflation Myth and the Wonderful World of Deflation
By Mark Mobius
Published by Wiley, November 2020 (UK publication date)
Hardcover and ebook, priced £18.99/ US $24.95/ €21.50
ISBN: 9781119741428
“If there’s a timelier look at the farcical place the global economy finds itself in 2020 than Mark Mobius’ new book, I’d sure love to find it.” – William Pesek, Forbes Columnist
Highly provocative and intuitively compelling, in his latest book The Inflation Myth legendary investor Mark Mobius systematically dismantles the conventional view of inflation and introduces us to the wonderful world of deflation where constant technological innovation leads to cheaper and better products.
The Inflation Myth and the Wonderful World of Deflation is an indispensably original look at one of the central pillars of macroeconomics: Inflation. Mark Mobius persuasively argues that, while the principles of inflation may once have held true, changing technological realities have rendered inflationary measurements highly unreliable, deeply politicised and profoundly inaccurate. What we believe to know about inflation today does not reflect the reality any longer. It is a myth, a legend, a fable, and, yes, a falsehood for a number of reasons including:
- The political nature of inflation measurement where governments manipulate and exploit inflation numbers to fit their economic programmes
- The extreme difficulty involved in gathering accurate data to measure inflation and the resulting inaccuracy of those measures
- The error of using currencies to measure inflation when those currencies are continually being debased by the governments who issue them
- Finally, and most importantly, the advances in technology and automation which are leading to continuously falling costs for goods and services
Mobius shows that while we believe we are living in an inflationary environment, we are, in fact, experiencing a deflationary spiral with falling prices driven by automation and innovation that benefit consumers. Take for example the COVID-19 crisis. What if it had taken place in the year 2000 rather than the year 2020? What would have been the cost just of the increase in conference calls as people worked from home, compared to today where we can choose from a range of free online conferencing services?
A gripping and convincing work of stunning originality, and a must read for anyone looking for a dash of hope in times where inflation has become a scare word for many.
The Inflation Myth and the Wonderful World of Deflation will be available wherever books and ebooks are sold, priced £18.99/ US $24.95/ €21.50
