When Prices Should Please Us

While the trajectory of consumer price changes should make us happy, instead we’ve responded with concern.

What Used Cars Say About Inflation

Looking back and ahead, we can observe used car prices to understand and predict what is happening to inflation.

Which Half of the Misery Index Makes Us Sadder?

Recalling the Misery Index and concerns about inflation, we can ask whether economists believe that inflation or unemployment make us sadder.

How Covid-19 Affects the Cost of Living

Because a Covid-19 basket of goods and services has a different inflation rate from the CPI basket, the cost of living might not be what we think it is.

Why Your Inflation Rate is Different From Mine

Although the BLS reports the CPI (Consumer Price Index) inflation rate each month, our own household could see different price changes.

Is Santa Earning More?

By calculating Santa’s wages through comparable occupations, we can determine if his yearly earnings increases are similar to U.S. workers.

Where Clothing Size Inflation Is a Large Problem

Like the CPI measures purchasing power through the dollar’s inflation rate, we can observe waistline changes through clothing size inflation.

Not Quite a Goldilocks Recovery

To decide the strength of our economic recovery since the Great Recession, we can use seven numbers or just one that might be most important.

The Fed’s Inflation Mystery

Usually Federal Reserve interest rate hikes should control inflation but now it is mysteriously missing, even with low unemployment.

Weekly Roundup: From the Diner’s Dilemma to Lost Labor

This week’s economic news summary includes the diner’s dilemma and marginal analysis, property rights in outer space, the Phillip’s Curve and unemployment.