Understanding Current Inflation

The high and rising inflation of the 1970s caused widespread economic insecurity, raised fundamental questions about the government’s ability to manage the economy, and caused macro-economists to doubt many of their theories. Now, as inflation rises after a decades-long lull, economists and policy-makers are faced with a key question: is the current rise in prices transitory; driven by supply chain issues and COVID stimulus spending, or are we likely to see a more sustained increase in prices?

 

This week on EconoFact Chats, Jay Shambaugh of George Washington University joins Michael Klein to discuss the prospects for ongoing inflation, and the ways in which inflation affects your economic well-being.