greedflation

Blend of greed +‎ inflation

greedflation (uncountable)

1. (economics, neologism) Price gouging by corporations during an inflationary period, especially when the underlying cost of production has not risen accordingly; price increases ostensibly inflated solely by underlying fundamental factors but really in excess of that level.
   • 2022 June 14, Catherine Rampell, “Greed is dead. Long live greed!”, in Washington Post‎ (subscription required):

     Echoes her colleague Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.): “The problem is not inflation. The problem is corporate greed.” Their evidence for the greedflation theory was that prices companies charge had risen faster than input costs, which meant (at least for a while) that profits were growing.

   • 2022 July 13, “Has ‘greedflation’ driven up Canadian food prices? Evidence of ‘greedflation’ is weak at best”, in Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal:

     In fact, evidence of ‘greedflation’ in food retail in Canada is weak at best. But prices in some food categories have behaved unreasonably in recent years, so we shouldn't think greedflation doesn't exist.

   • [2023 March 24, Daily Mail City, Finance Reporter, “INVESTING EXPLAINED: What you need to know about Excuseflation – a ploy by companies to hike prices, also known as greedflation”, in Mail Online‎:

     Excuseflation is also known as greedflation.]

   • 2023 July 6, ““Greedflation” is a nonsense idea”, in The Economist‎, →ISSN:

     The “greedflation” thesis is in part a reaction against another common explanation for inflation: that it is driven by fast-growing wages.

   • 2023 July 26, Peter Coy, “Companies Aren’t Eager to Cut Their Prices as Costs Fall”, in The New York Times, Peter Coy Newsletter:

     If a company could manage to raise its price by a big percentage and have its volume go down by only a small percentage, it would increase its revenue, offsetting its higher costs. Some people called that profiteering or greedflation, but to Rines it was just good business.

• excuseflation (often synonymous)

• greenflation
• inflation
• skimpflation
• shrinkflation