Does the game handle inflation?

[Gustaf]

Is there anything like inflation on Tropico? Some people seem to expect pay increases regulary. Without knowing how the game handles this, I regard the $5 pay or whatever as symbolic -- it doesn't mean a laborer in 2001 earns the same as his grandfather did 1951! It only means he is at the same low level as farmers or teamsters.

I hope this is how the game generally handles it too. If everyone expected pay increases regulary, you have to be a computer yourself to handle it. The game would definitely need some kind of automation for this, or caculating wages would quickly add to the dull activities of every game.

[Alastar]

there is inflation in a sense as the average carribean wage increases over time (it´s in the almanach under income disparity). if you pay your peons way below it, you will have less immigrants and more people will leave your island to earn a living elsewhere.

[mooski]

Evenin!

   And another way that you're average pay will go up is via skilled labor.  Doctors, generals, engineers tend to make more money and bring up the average...

   Or you could just set your Immigration Office (you do have one, don't you?!?) to 'Nobody gets out alive', and that should solve any emigration problems you might have...

   I miss playing Tropico.

   Happy Happy!

[Coconut Kid]

Is there anything like inflation on Tropico? ... If everyone expected pay increases regulary, you have to be a computer yourself to handle it. The game would definitely need some kind of automation for this, or caculating wages would quickly add to the dull activities of every game.

The game uses a very simplistic mechanic (mentioned by Alastar) to introduce an "off-island" influence on the pay rates. The Caribbean average pay rate increases on a 'straight line' progression. It is more or less steep based on the economic difficulty setting. Interestingly, the sale price of goods is fixed - except for the Trade Delegations and Random Events. So as time passes it becomes a little harder to make money.

The mechanic is not that people "expect a regular pay increase" -- rather they gradually lose job happiness if their individual pay is low:

• relative to world  (Caribbean Average)
• relative to other workers of my job type
• relative to other island workers
• relative to everything (average of other three?)

Since pay is not the only factor which determines job happiness, the urgency and regularity of pay increases varies among the jobs.

Surprisingly, many players really love micromanaging pay, rents, and entertainment fees.

Mooski's suggestion about use of the Immigration Office to stop emigration doesn't do anything for job happiness.

[Rum Baron]

You get an inflationary effect due to the pressure on wages. In turn, what you can do to complete the spiral is raise rents and fees, thus recapturing some of the increase in wages. I like to start out 3/6/9, fees set to 3 and rents at tenement - 1, nicer apartment - 2, and lux housing (if any) 3, and then once I hit 6/12/15, I raise rents: tenement 1 -> 2, nicer apartment 2 -> 3 and lux housing 3 -> 5. This keeps to the 1/3 of income rule and helps keep some social stratification which appeases the capitalists, while the communists still like the fact that everybody has some kind of decent housing and the wages haven't come totally unglued (which they hate).