The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Inflation Dynamics in Germany

Inhaltsangabe oder Einleitung

The goal of this assignment is to discover the impact of the Corona pandemic on consumer prices. In addition, the paper will summarize the most important aspects of the Corona pandemic and provide information on the definition of the inflation rate.

People are surrounded by headlines "More than 5000 Covid-19 patients in intensive care". Due to the Corona pandemic, the daily life of the people is limited to their safety. Considering the economic consequences, many sectors are at risk, for example, the international division of labour and the industry. The Institute for Economic Research ifo informs that the most affected are the retail, hotels, and restaurants. However, has the Corona crisis also affected prices?

The Federal Statistical Office answers this question with yes, when it says that the Corona crisis has influenced prices at various economic levels. This means that there is a price influence from import to production to trade and then finally to the end consumer and export. On the world market, there have been strong price reductions, which affect the consumer price. In connection with this, we see a change in the inflation rate, which was 0.9% in April 2020 and increased by 0.4% just one month later. But is this kind of inflationary change good or bad for our economy? It is a well-known fact that a low inflation rate is good for the economy, while a high rate is bad. The reason is that at a high inflation rate the citizens lose faith in the currency and the purchasing power decreases significantly. Prices have risen steadily due to a shortage of supply, especially for pandemic items such as protective masks and disinfectants, and for medicines such as ibuprofen and paracetamol. All of which are largely manufactured in China.