Inflation is being amplified by firms with market power
- Written by John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland

The upsurge in inflation has revived old debates about what causes it.
Until recently, it has been an article of faith among both businesses and union leaders that inflation is “cost-push”, meaning it is caused by higher input prices.
Businesses (and Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe) fear a wage-price spiral, in which wages...