Economic Definition of purchasing power. Defined.
Offline Version: PDF
Term purchasing power Definition: In general the quantities of goods and services that can be bought with a given amount of money. The notable feature of purchasing power is that it declines as prices rise. In particular, inflation is the number one nemesis of purchasing power. When inflation gives higher prices, purchasing power falls. Be careful, though, that you don't get too caught up in the purchasing power of just a single dollar. The real question is not how much stuff one dollar can buy, but how many dollars you have. In other words, while the price of a brand new car might have been $10 when you were a kid (in the good old days), the average annual income was also $20. That's the same purchasing power as a $10,000 car price and a $20,000 income.
« public utility | purchasing-power parity »
Permalink: https://glossary.econguru.com/economic-term/purchasing+power