Oxford Professor Dr. Dennis Egger presents economic "slack" as the reason that a large influx of cash in a rural Kenyan economy didn't cause inflation. The idea is that before cash arrived, many businesses were operating at only about 60% of their potential output (e.g., a grain miller who only runs his machine half the day because he has few customers). When cash led to more customers, they could easily grow by staying open longer, hiring staff, and making better use of their existing resources, instead of raising prices.

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This was originally recorded September 24, 2025 as part of internal brown bag with GiveDirectly staff.