"The myth [regarding deflation] that falling prices pose a problem for entrepreneurs might partly stem from the fact that most economists concentrate on one particular price index which is the consumer price index. When they say that prices fall, they mean consumer goods’ prices. All of the prices of the different factors of production are passed over. Asset prices, like stock exchange prices, are also passed over...For most companies consumer goods’ prices are not directly relevant as they operate in higher stages of production. However, many economists only concentrate on the consumer price index. They look on an arbitrarily selected and very small number of prices, excluding from their index such important prices like asset prices and producer goods’ prices. Then they infer from falling consumer goods’ prices that entrepreneurs are in trouble as their selling prices fall. They neglect that the prices of factors of production can fall too and that the majority of entrepreneurs are not involved in the production of consumer goods but instead produce producer goods." - Philipp Bagus, ***In Defense of Deflation*** (2015) p. 99

#AnCap #Libertarian #Antistate #AustrianEconomics #Deflation #Assets #Stocks #ConsumerPriceIndex #CPI #Goods #ConsumerGoods #ProducerGoods #Entrepreneurship #Competitiveness #FactorsOfProduction #MeansOfProduction #Quotestr