What Is the Relationship between the Block Reward and the Inflation Rate of a Cryptocurrency?

The block reward, which includes the block subsidy, is the source of new coins entering the circulating supply. The inflation rate is the rate at which the circulating supply increases.

Therefore, a higher block reward leads to a higher inflation rate, all else being equal. Halving events are designed to systematically decrease the block reward, thus lowering the inflation rate until it eventually reaches zero when the last coin is mined.