Claudia Sahm on what is driving inflation in America
The former White House economist considers whether covid-19 rescue plans deserve any blame
THE PAST few years have once again demonstrated that blunt tools—such as the government sending out cheques and pushing down interest rates—affect how much consumers and businesses spend. But it is difficult to fine-tune such policies without the benefit of hindsight. Even after the fact, it can be hard to analyse what should have been done. Inflation was not transitory, but neither was covid-19. And the stresses the pandemic put on the global economy were far-reaching. What does that mean for policy design in the future?
This article appeared in the By Invitation section of the print edition under the headline “Claudia Sahm on what is driving inflation in America”
From the May 21st 2022 edition
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