The Rabobank researchers regret the introduction of the term “pulling inflation”. In a recent study, researchers sought to determine whether companies use high inflation to boost profits. The term “Graaiflation” has also been used. Researcher Hugo Erkin regrets it afterwards, he told the Department of Defense.
Erkin says the choice was the right one to “identify” in the debate in a newspaper. “But there is a moral judgment hidden in it, and it stirs emotions.” FD journalist Marijn Jongsma, author of the story, says a neutral term such as “earnings inflation” could also have been used. “But then no one will know what you’re talking about.”
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In the past, researchers lament the moral judgment that corporations “appropriate”. “Everyone got away with this report,” explains Jongsma, “even though they didn’t say there was really ‘intense inflation.’ They say there are strong indicators, but they’re not sure. This report has taken on a life of its own.”
Trade unions
Labor unions in particular have used the term with avidity. It helped, because unions like to vet reports they haven’t filed themselves. It comes from an unexpected angle, says Jongsma, almost. He believes, however, that the takeover inflation debate would have flared up even without the Rabobank report. “Like many things, it really exploded from the United States.”
