StrypeyJan 25, 2023

"... US markets have become increasingly concentrated and that makes it extremely likely that these companies have been able to increase prices more than costs, and... despite costs coming down, we haven't seen these companies reduce these prices...

...given high levels of market concentration... what we should be expecting is that these firms have a lot of pricing power and that is driving [price rises]."

#IraRegmi, 2023

https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/the-real-reasons-why-inflation-soared-last-year-with-ira-regmi/

#podcasts #PitchforkEconomics #inflation

The real reasons why inflation soared last year (with Ira Regmi) - Pitchfork Economics

For most of last year economists and pundits engaged in a long, circular debate about why inflation was spiking around the world, and who was to blame for those skyrocketing prices. Economic experts at the Roosevelt Institute (including past guest Joseph Stiglitz) have finally revealed the root causes of global inflation in a new report. Stiglitz’s co-author, Ira Regmi, shares what they’ve learned.

Pitchfork Economics
Show threadStrypey

"... just jamming [interest rates]... up so high that you create a global recession, so tens of millions of people lose their jobs, so prices go down again, is just idiotic."

https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/the-real-reasons-why-inflation-soared-last-year-with-ira-regmi/

#podcasts #PitchforkEconomics #inflation

The real reasons why inflation soared last year (with Ira Regmi) - Pitchfork Economics

For most of last year economists and pundits engaged in a long, circular debate about why inflation was spiking around the world, and who was to blame for those skyrocketing prices. Economic experts at the Roosevelt Institute (including past guest Joseph Stiglitz) have finally revealed the root causes of global inflation in a new report. Stiglitz’s co-author, Ira Regmi, shares what they’ve learned.

Pitchfork Economics
Jan 25, 2023 at 4:45amWeb
Show threadStrypeyJan 25, 2023

"... what has actually led to a situation where our supply chains were just not resilient enough, and were not able to withstand a supply shock of this scale, was a stagnancy in investments, and that is definitely one of the direct outcomes of increased interest rates. So there is a high risk that this is counterproductive and we actually end up making the problem much worse."

#IraRegmi, 2023

https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/the-real-reasons-why-inflation-soared-last-year-with-ira-regmi/

#podcasts #PitchforkEconomics #inflation

The real reasons why inflation soared last year (with Ira Regmi) - Pitchfork Economics

For most of last year economists and pundits engaged in a long, circular debate about why inflation was spiking around the world, and who was to blame for those skyrocketing prices. Economic experts at the Roosevelt Institute (including past guest Joseph Stiglitz) have finally revealed the root causes of global inflation in a new report. Stiglitz’s co-author, Ira Regmi, shares what they’ve learned.

Pitchfork Economics
Show threadStrypeyJan 25, 2023
In summary, recent price rises are not caused by #inflation (too much money chasing too few goods) but by supply chain shocks, amplifying the effects of market concentration and price gouging by corporations. Raising interest rates can't fix this problem, and may actually make it worse. If higher interest rates creates a recession, this will increase unemployment and reduce buying power among working people, and slow investment in stabilizing supply chains, so available goods can get to them.
Show threadKay   Jan 25, 2023
@strypey If PM and government want to help support people doing it tough they could consider funding #FoodBanks and other social safety nets. Make sure people can actually have #BreadAndButter or #FruitAndCereal or what food they can eat that they actually like and that sustains them #NZpol
Show threadStrypeyJan 25, 2023

'The Causes of and Responses to Today’s Inflations'

#JosephEStiglitz, #IraRegmi, Dec, 2022

"The evidence is overwhelming: were there no supply problems, aggregate demand would not be excessive. The inflation we’ve experienced is best understood as resulting from industry-specific problems that many Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries are facing. A strong labor market is part of the solution, not the problem."

https://rooseveltinstitute.org/publications/the-causes-of-and-responses-to-todays-inflation/

#inflation #OECD

Roosevelt Institute - The Causes of and Responses to Today’s Inflation

The evidence is overwhelming: were there no supply problems, aggregate demand would not be excessive. The inflation we’ve experienced is best understood as resulting from industry-specific problems that many OECD countries are facing. A strong labor market is part of the solution, not the problem.

Roosevelt Institute