REAL: The value after adjusting for inflation. Pointy-headed economist are frequently interested in comparing stuff (production, income, or whatever) in one year with similar stuff in another year. However, in that inflation can distort such a comparison, it's best made using a fixed set of prices that eliminate inflationary changes. In practice, this is accomplished by using the prices in an arbitrary "base year." Once the price differences have been eliminated, the numbers are said to be measured in real dollars. See also | inflation | nominal | production | income | real gross domestic product | real interest rate | real production | price level |
