Tag: measurement

Inflation is #VALUE!

What is the inflation rate during and after lockdowns?

Inflation is already hard to measure in normal times, as I discussed in Bankers are people, too (page 126-129).

But the corona crisis adds further complications. Some services are unavailable due to the corona lockdown, for example restaurant visits and air travel. To discourage hoarding, supermarkets stopped offering discounts.

The abrupt shock causes headaches for statisticians.

For more, you should read Claire Jones’ Alphaville post on the fuzzy inflation figures.

Economics is hard

How are economic statistics collected? Do economic models correspond to observable reality?

In a world where markets and politicians respond strongly to things like gross domestic product (GDP) figures and economic forecasts, these are important questions. Unfortunately, discussion often jumps directly to the interpretation of new data or the output of models. Students are rarely challenged to question what the data and the models represent.

I recently came across two great articles that dig into these issues. Continue reading “Economics is hard”