How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes

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S H R I N K I N G   F I S H
Given that fi sh were used as money on the island, prices for 
everything had to go up to keep pace with the diminished 
nutritional value of fi sh. The nagging problem of “fi shfl ation” 
was born. So while effi ciency had traditionally driven prices 
down, now government-created fi shfl ation forced them in the 
opposite direction.
Strangely, no one could agree on why prices were going 
up. Ally Greenfi n offered a needed theory. “Fishfl ation,” 
he said, “is caused by a phenomenon known as the ‘cost-
price-fish push.’ ” He argued that high employment 
(thanks in part to government jobs) combined with a 
strong economy creates greater demand for fi sh and forces 
up prices. 
As proof of their prosperity Greenfi n noted that most islanders 
were now eating twice as many fi sh as their parents.

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