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Shopping street in Frankfurt am Main
Photo: Frank Rumpenhorst / dpa
The worst losers from inflation are the poor, this is another opinion that is widespread these days.
But: It cannot be said so clearly.
At least not in view of the current Corona price surge.
This is the conclusion reached by an analysis by the Ifo Institute in Munich.
According to this, it is currently exactly the other way around: particularly high-income households in Germany lose on average more as a result of the rise in inflation than is the case with citizens with low incomes.
According to ifo calculations, inflation for a net income of over 5000 euros per month was 4.8 percent in October (click here for the complete analysis).
In households with less than 1,300 euros net, however, it was only 4 percent.
The overall average was 4.5 percent.
"The reason is the composition of the shopping basket," says Ifo Economic Director Timo Wollmershäuser.
To be more precise: wealthy people on average spend their money on other goods and services - and it is precisely these that have recently become significantly more expensive.
Global inflation on the rise
For example, wealthier households spend a significantly larger proportion of their available funds on purchases for cars and for gasoline or diesel.
Both items have recently been real price drivers.
The effect can also be expressed in euros: If German households were to demand exactly the same goods and services as they did in 2019, the poorest would have to shell out an average of 19 euros more, while income of 5,000 euros net would have to be 111 euros more.
Inflation has risen significantly worldwide in the wake of the recovery after the corona recession.
In Germany, the effect is also reinforced by the fact that a year ago prices were particularly low due to the temporary VAT.
In addition, there are drastic price jumps on the raw material markets: heating oil has become more than 70 percent more expensive, fuels 28 percent.
tremor
