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It began to appear occasionally when policymakers were rowing on the ocean of denial. Then more rocks appeared. Finally, they saw that they were heading towards the inflation cliff. Only with great effort can they turn the boat around and row to a safe place.
For someone who started his career as an economist in the 1970s, this is how the world began to feel. Few people would like to believe Milton Friedman’s warning. But he was right. This process began to emerge as prices in what the late John Hicks called “flexible price” markets (such as food markets) increased. Some price increases can be explained by supply restrictions, such as the 1973-74 oil embargo. In what Hicks calls the “fixed price” market, we see excess and shortage of demand. But as price increases become more common, real wages are eroded, and workers become more and more belligerent. Finally, the general wage price spiral becomes very obvious.
What is behind all this? The answer is: being too optimistic about potential supply until it’s too late. Are we making the same mistake now? In my opinion, yes. Even if the price increases we see may be temporary, they may become permanent. In addition, even if someone is more optimistic than this, it seems impossible to justify the current monetary policy environment, especially in the United States. The current policy is meaningful during the depression. But we are no longer at risk of depression.
exist May 2020, I noticed the monetarist Tim Congdon’s warning about impending inflation. In early 2021, famous Keynesians, especially Lawrence Summers with Olivier Blanchard, Joined, mainly in response to Joe Biden’s huge fiscal stimulus measures.I reiterated my concerns about inflation March and May and other occasions.
now, Worryer Feel vindicated.in a Recent column, Summers responded in detail “Team transition” view Proposed by Fed Chairman Jay Powell in Jackson Hole in August. This is not surprising. In the United States, the headline inflation rate reached 6.2% in the year ending October 2021. To make matters worse, the core inflation rate (excluding food and energy prices) reached 4.6%. Fortunately, things look better in the Eurozone and the UK, with core inflation rates of 1.9% and 2.9%, respectively. The European Central Bank’s view that the inflation threat in the euro zone is much smaller than that of the US seems to be correct.
Today, as Summers pointed out, prices are rising in many areas of the US economy, including housing. In addition, inflation expectations generated by the gap between traditional Treasury bonds and index-linked Treasury bonds have risen by approximately one percentage point in the past year. As Harvard’s Jason Furman emphasized, Signs of stress in the labor marketOf course, the latter has basically recovered. (See chart.)
Nevertheless, people can still notice special factors.Including Soaring prices gas.Xiaobian detailed analysis International Energy Agency Many factors in terms of demand and supply are described, including “the European underground gas storage level at the end of September was 15% lower than the five-year average.” Therefore, although the intensity of demand played a role, This is not the only factor.
A similar point is The nature of the surge in demand after the crisis, Especially snapping up consumer durables. This is probably because many people are nervous about eating out or other services.The surge in demand for durable goods is reflected in the demand for industrial inputs, so Extend the transportation of the supply chain across the worldIn fact, Capital Economics chief economist Neil Schilling asserted that the real situation “is how the supply chain is performing in light of the huge shift in demand to commodities.”
However, as time goes by, special factors become less and less credible, and concerns about inflation will become more entrenched.with Fiscal policy is now tighteningEven in the United States, the burden of stabilizing the macro economy falls on the central bank, especially the Federal Reserve. However, there is no macroeconomic case that does not implement Biden’s “rebuild better” plan. Furman believes that “in the medium and long term, this will have minimal impact on inflation” and there are many benefits.
All large central banks are still largely locked in the policy environment launched in March 2020, which was the peak of the panic caused by the new crown virus. In the United States, this seems very inappropriate.After all, inflation is rising so fast that real short-term interest rates are close to reduce 5%, even at the core inflation rate. It is difficult to understand why this is happening now. The problem today is supply, not demand. The Fed can do nothing about this.
It may be that the Fed has postponed the apparent normalization move due to its transformation Target average inflation. However it never made sense to me The world’s leading central bank responds to its past failures and deliberately commits the opposite error in the future. This is also determined by William Butt. This just adds new uncertainties.
Another reason for the delay may be the belief that the “hot” economic operation will bring huge social benefits and limited costs. This is a good argument for maintaining demand. But if the rapid rise in inflation is not dealt with, this is a risky argument. The danger is that the results may continue to be worse than expected. Then the Fed will be forced to catch up. The cost of doing so will greatly exceed the cost of adjusting its ultra-loose policy now.
I very much hope that this inflation will disappear. But hope is not enough. The current policy settings look inappropriate. The Fed needs a new senior management, ready to stand up and think about the actual situation of the US and the world economy. Turning to currency sobriety faster now can prevent having to cold turkey in the future.
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