<h2>One price relative to others</h2>
<p>The key parts of the statement &quot;When <strong>a price</strong> rises, buyers of <strong>that good</strong> must pay more, but sellers get more revenue when they sell it. The loss in buyers' purchasing power is matched by the rise in sellers' purchasing power.&quot; are &quot;a price&quot; and &quot;that good&quot;.</p>
<p>If the price of oranges increases from \$1 to \$2, then it does <em>not</em> imply that 2 dollars post-inflation is worth the same as 1 dollar before the price rise; we could expect <em>some</em> devaluation, but it would be proportional to the impact of oranges in the whole economy.</p>
<p>Oranges increasing in price means that the purchasing power of people who buy oranges is decreased, but the purchasing power of people who sell oranges is increased, since they can buy more stuff (e.g. apples) from their orange-derived revenue than before.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-26T21:08:45.023Z
Right now and also now and may be later, Wikipedia says " inflation or price inflation is a general rise in price level ". As you correctly pointed out, the question asked involves "a price" which is not the same as saying there is a "general rise".
H2ONaCl
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-23T12:27:05.843Z
2020-09-23T12:27:05.843Z
Peteris
<p>Am not a trained economist, but I would think this may be a temporary effect. A merchant may sell his newly purchased items for $2. Scruples aside, he could sell his existing inventory of that item (purchased at the pre-inflation wholesale price) at the post-inflation retail price. Again, an opportunistic, but temporary, advantage.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-12-27T23:04:50.330Z
2019-12-27T23:04:50.330Z
IchabodKunkleberry
<p>According to my textbook, in the chapter on inflation,</p>

<p>"When a price rises, buyers of that good must pay more, but sellers get more revenue when they sell it. The loss in buyers' purchasing power is matched by the rise in sellers' purchasing power."</p>

<p>I understand the part of falling purchasing power for buyers (since each dollar can now buy less compared to previously), but why so for the seller? For instance, suppose each orange was sold for 1 dollar in the past. The price then rose to 2 dollars (reflecting the rise in general price level in the economy) - but if 2 dollars post-inflation is worth the same as 1 dollar before the price rise, then there really is no change in the sellers' purchasing power right? When the seller uses the 2 dollars to buy other things, it will still fetch him the same as 1 dollar did previously! </p>

<p>I'm not sure if I'm missing something here, and would really appreciate some clarification, thank you!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-12-26T09:08:31.430Z
Which text book is it ? Your comprehension may be correct depending on omissions.
keepAlive
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-12-26T13:09:10.787Z
@keepAlive it's "Economics: Principles & Applications" 6th edition by Robert E. Hall and Marc Lieberman (pg. 580).
Charlz97
<macroeconomics><inflation><markets>
Why will inflation raise sellers' purchasing power?
Charlz97
# Why will inflation raise sellers' purchasing power?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-12-25)

According to my textbook, in the chapter on inflation,

"When a price rises, buyers of that good must pay more, but sellers get more revenue when they sell it. The loss in buyers' purchasing power is matched by the rise in sellers' purchasing power."

I understand the part of falling purchasing power for buyers (since each dollar can now buy less compared to previously), but why so for the seller? For instance, suppose each orange was sold for 1 dollar in the past. The price then rose to 2 dollars (reflecting the rise in general price level in the economy) - but if 2 dollars post-inflation is worth the same as 1 dollar before the price rise, then there really is no change in the sellers' purchasing power right? When the seller uses the 2 dollars to buy other things, it will still fetch him the same as 1 dollar did previously!

I'm not sure if I'm missing something here, and would really appreciate some clarification, thank you!

**Tags:** macroeconomics, inflation, markets

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Which text book is it ? Your comprehension may be correct depending on omissions.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 it's "Economics: Principles & Applications" 6th edition by Robert E. Hall and Marc Lieberman (pg. 580).  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-09-23. Score: 1

## One price relative to others

The key parts of the statement "When **a price** rises, buyers of **that good** must pay more, but sellers get more revenue when they sell it. The loss in buyers' purchasing power is matched by the rise in sellers' purchasing power." are "a price" and "that good".

If the price of oranges increases from \$1 to \$2, then it does *not* imply that 2 dollars post-inflation is worth the same as 1 dollar before the price rise; we could expect *some* devaluation, but it would be proportional to the impact of oranges in the whole economy.

Oranges increasing in price means that the purchasing power of people who buy oranges is decreased, but the purchasing power of people who sell oranges is increased, since they can buy more stuff (e.g. apples) from their orange-derived revenue than before.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Right now and also now and may be later, Wikipedia says " inflation or price inflation is a general rise in price level ". As you correctly pointed out, the question asked involves "a price" which is not the same as saying there is a "general rise".  

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### Answer by username_4 on 2019-12-27. Score: 0

Am not a trained economist, but I would think this may be a temporary effect. A merchant may sell his newly purchased items for $2. Scruples aside, he could sell his existing inventory of that item (purchased at the pre-inflation wholesale price) at the post-inflation retail price. Again, an opportunistic, but temporary, advantage.


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