How concerned should we be about inflation?
Economist Justin Wolfers says the pandemic has created supply shortages because the global vaccination rate is too low. Also, Charles Ballard says the minimum wage in the U.S. is so depressed it doesn’t create a price-wage spiral.
These days, pundits are talking a lot about rising prices and specifically, inflation. And it’s true prices at the grocery store have been increasing, and that consumer sentiment has been low. That leaves questions about how we should interpret inflation, and how much it has to do with increasing wages.
“If you want to solve U.S. inflation, you want to think about vaccinating the rest of the world.” — Justin Wolfers, professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan’s Ford School
Listen: Economists on inflation and how to solve it.
Guests
Justin Wolfers is a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan’s Ford School. Wolfers says that the pandemic has created supply shortages because the global vaccination rate is too low. “If you want to solve U.S. inflation, you want to think about vaccinating the rest of the world,” he says.
Charles Ballard is a professor of economics at Michigan State University. Ballard says the minimum wage in the U.S. is so depressed it doesn’t create a price-wage spiral. “The minimum wage is so low. Even though the minimum wage in Michigan is somewhat higher, it’s less than $10 an hour,” says Ballard.
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