I've been thinking about the conflicting signals on inflation. I can't think of another period when the world is seeing such dramatic increasing returns to manufacturing and decreasing returns to resources hitting at the same time.
The late 19th century witnessed extraordinary deflation in manufacturing products, but agricultural prices were also held in check. Today, agriculture represents a much smaller part of the total resource bill. Petroleum becomes increasingly important worldwide. Is this situation is unprecedented as I am making it out to be? -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
