FIGURE 1 INFLATION FROM 1930 TO 2016—GDP DEFLATOR

The broadest measure of inflation, the GDP deflator, is used to graph inflation from 1930 to the present. Deflation occurred during the Great Depression. The spike in inflation occurred after World War II ended, when price controls were lifted. Since then, inflation has existed in a 1%–14% range. Since the mid-1980s, the U.S. economy has generally faced disinflation (inflation, but generally at a decreasing rate).

Dusan Ptricic/Artizans