This timeline shows the inflation rate in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2023. In 2023, Afghanistan's average inflation rate amounted to -7.71 percent compared to the previous year. Afghanistan's economy Inflation in Afghanistan has experienced an increase every year with the exception of 2009. Some short-term increases in prices are often attributed to wars, which is a fundamental reason for yearly inflation in Afghanistan. On the other hand, wars often cause spikes in GDP, primarily due to an increased amount of production and reparations. This was not the case for Afghanistan, however. GDP, more specifically GDP per capita, remained relatively low as of 2013, despite increasing annually and ranked as one of the top 20 lowest gross domestic product per capita values in 2013. GDP per capita measures a country’s productivity by using its entire gross domestic product and dividing it by the number of people in the country and is mostly used to compare one nation with another. From an economic standpoint, Afghanistan imported many more goods than they exported, leading to a trade deficit. The country has experienced a trade deficit every year over the past decade, most notably in 2011. Reasons for the ongoing deficit could potentially be the lack of government support for domestic production as well as stiff rules towards marketing. Also, production and transport are likely to suffer due to the war. A trade deficit also implicates that a country borrows more money from other nations in order to sustain and fulfill the needs its economy, along with its citizens.

The statistic shows the inflation rate in Australia from 1987 to 2022, with projections up until 2029. The inflation rate is calculated using the price increase of a defined product basket. This product basket contains products and services, on which the average consumer spends money throughout the year. They include expenses for groceries, clothes, rent, power, telecommunications, recreational activities and raw materials (e.g. gas, oil), as well as federal fees and taxes. In 2022, the average inflation rate in Australia was at about 6.61 percent compared to the previous year.

Australia's economy

Australia has one of the world’s largest economies and is a significant global importer and exporter. It is also labeled as one of the G20 countries, also known as the Group of Twenty, which consists of 20 major economies around the globe. The Australian economy is highly dependent on its mining sector as well as its agricultural sector in order to grow, and it exports the majority of these goods to eastern Asian countries, most prominently China. Large quantities of exports have helped Australia maintain a stable economy and furthered economic expansion, despite being affected by several economic obstacles.

Australia’s GDP has seen a significant increase over the past decade, more than doubling its value, and experienced a rather quick recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, which indicates that the country experienced economic growth as well as higher productivity. One of the primary reasons is the further development of the nation’s mining industry coupled with the expansion and success of many Australian mining companies.

These are the MCMC and nested sampling inference products and input files that were used to compute results for the paper "Finite inflation in cuved space" by L. T. Hergt, F. J. Agocs, W. J. Handley, M. P. Hobson, and A. N. Lasenby from 2022.

Example plotting scripts (as \(\texttt{.ipynb}\) or as \(\texttt{.html}\) files) and figures from the paper are included to demonstrate usage.

We used the following python packages for the genertion of MCMC and nested sampling chains:

Filename conventions:

• \(\texttt{mcmc}\): MCMC run
• \(\texttt{pcs#d####}\): PolyChord run (in synchronous mode) with \(\texttt{#d}\) repeats per parameter block (where \(\texttt{d}\) is the number of parameters in that block) and with \(\texttt{####}\) live points.
• \(\texttt{_cl_hf}\): Using Boltzmann theory code CLASS with nonlinearities code halofit.
• \(\texttt{_p18}\): Using Planck 2018 CMB data.
• \(\texttt{_TTTEEE}\): Using the high-l TTTEEE likelihood.
• \(\texttt{_TTTEEElite}\): Using the lite version of the high-l TTTEEE likelihood.
• \(\texttt{_lowl_lowE}\): Using the low-l likelihoods for temperature and E-modes.
• \(\texttt{_BK15}\): Using data from the 2015 observing season of Bicep2 and the Keck Array.
• \(\texttt{lcdm}\): Concordance cosmological model called LCDM (standard 6 cosmological sampling parameters, no tensor perturbations, zero spatial curvature)
• \(\texttt{_r}\): Extension with a variable tensor-to-scalar ratio \(r\).
• \(\texttt{_omegak}\): Extension with a variable curvature density parameter \(\Omega_K \).
• \(\texttt{_H0}\): Sampling over \(H_0\) instead of \(\theta_\mathrm{s}\).
• \(\texttt{_omegakh2}\): Extension with a variable curvature density parameter, but sampling over \(H_0\) instead of \(\theta_\mathrm{s}\) and over \(\omega_K\equiv\Omega_Kh^2\) instead of \(\Omega_K \).
• \(\texttt{_mn2}\): Using a quadratic monomial potential for the computation of the primordial universe.
• \(\texttt{_nat}\): Using the natural inflation potential for the computation of the primordial universe.
• \(\texttt{_stb}\): Using the Starobinsky potential for the computation of the primordial universe.
• \(\texttt{_AsfoH}\): Using the primordial sampling parameters {`logA_SR`, `N_star`, `f_i`, `omega_K`, `H0`}.
• \(\texttt{_perm}\): Assuming a permissive reheating scenario.

In June 2024, the European Central Bank (ECB) began reducing its fixed interest rate for the first time since 2016, implementing a series of cuts. The rate decreased from 4.5 percent to 3.15 percent by year-end: a 0.25 percentage point cut in June, followed by additional reductions in September, October, and December. The central bank implemented another cut in early 2025, setting the rate at 2.9 percent. This marked a significant shift from the previous rate hike cycle, which began in July 2022 when the ECB raised rates to 0.5 percent and subsequently increased them almost monthly, reaching 4.5 percent by December 2023 - the highest level since the 2007-2008 global financial crisis. How does this ensure liquidity? Banks typically hold only a fraction of their capital in cash, measured by metrics like the Tier 1 capital ratio. Since this ratio is low, banks prefer to allocate most of their capital to revenue-generating loans. When their cash reserves fall too low, banks borrow from the ECB to cover short-term liquidity needs. On the other hand, commercial banks can also deposit excess funds with the ECB at a lower interest rate. Reasons for fluctuations
The ECB’s primary mandate is to maintain price stability. The Euro area inflation rate is, in theory, the key indicator guiding the ECB's actions. When the fixed interest rate is lower, commercial banks are more likely to borrow from the ECB, increasing the money supply and, in turn, driving inflation higher. When inflation rises, the ECB increases the fixed interest rate, which slows borrowing and helps to reduce inflation.

House prices in the UK rose dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic, with growth slowing down in 2022 and turning negative in 2023. The year-on-year annual house price change peaked at 14 percent in July 2022. In June 2024, house prices increased by 2.7 percent. According to the Nationwide Building Society, the average house price exceeded 265,000 British pounds in 2022. Correction in housing prices: a European phenomenon The trend of a growing residential real estate market was not exclusive to the UK during the pandemic. Likewise, many European countries experienced falling prices in 2023. When comparing residential property RHPI (price index in real terms, e.g. corrected for inflation), countries such as Germany, France, Italy, and Spain also saw prices decline. Sweden, one of the countries with the fastest growing residential markets, saw one of the largest declines in prices. How has demand for UK housing changed since the outbreak of the coronavirus? The easing of the lockdown was followed by a dramatic increase in home sales. In November 2020, the number of mortgage approvals reached an all-time high of over 107,000. One of the reasons for the housing boom were the low mortgage rates, allowing home buyers to take out a loan with an interest rate as low as 2.5 percent. That changed as the Bank of England started to raise the base lending rate, resulting in higher borrowing costs and a decline in homebuyer sentiment.