This statement in itself is unusual, since the argument that nominal rates of interest, and hence the nominal cost of capital, contain an inflation premium dates back to the Fisher Effect and is generally accepted. As Van Horne has shown, nominal cash flows must be treated with nominal costs of capital or else a bias is introduced into the procedure. Since the discount rate is a major determinant of the investment decision, its relationship to inflation is of more than just passing interest in determining the overall impact of inflation on capital spending.