Publications

Inflation

Preview: What to Look for In the May Consumer Price Index

With wage growth slowing and supply chain problems easing, we are not seeing the wage-price spiral of the 1970s. But the war-related price increases for food and energy will still be bad news for the overall inflation picture and US consumers.

Dean Baker / June 07, 2022

Article Artículo

Colombia

Environment

Globalization and Trade

IMF

Special Drawing Rights

Lawmakers from Around the World Discuss Power of SDRs for Global Climate Finance

SDRs are not a magic bullet for climate finance. But as part of a wider framework, they can be a key tool for leveraging the resources needed for global climate justice.

Michael Galant / June 07, 2022

Article Artículo

Inequality

Latin America and the Caribbean

Do We Have to Give the Rich All of Our Money? Enforcing the Estate Tax

We need some good old-fashioned “law and order,” the super-rich have to be forced to pay the money they owe on the estate tax.

Dean Baker / June 06, 2022

Article Artículo

Haiti

US Foreign Policy

Venezuela

Latin America and the Caribbean

De Facto Haitian Government’s Invitation to Americas Summit Reveals US Double Standards

Latin America has often served as a willing accomplice to US neocolonialism in Haiti. It is long past time for that to end.

Jake Johnston / June 05, 2022

Article Artículo

Haiti

US Foreign Policy

Venezuela

Cumbre de las Américas: la omisión del caso de Haití

La decisión de los Estados Unidos de no invitar a Nicaragua, Cuba y Venezuela dominó la discusión previa a la gran cita continental de Los Angeles, pero nadie prestó suficiente atención al caso de Haití

Jake Johnston / June 05, 2022

Article Artículo

Janet Yellen Admits She Didn’t See Later Rounds of COVID-19 and the War in Ukraine

Yellen said she did not anticipate large shocks to the economy. Politico implied from this “admission” that the $1.9 trillion American Recovery Plan Biden was a mistake.

Dean Baker / June 04, 2022

Article Artículo

Workers

Strong Job Growth in May, Wage Pressure Eases

The drop in unemployment due to quits undermines the story of an out-of-control labor market.

Dean Baker / June 03, 2022

Article Artículo

Jobs

May Jobs Report Should Have Made Inflation Hawks Happy

The May jobs report should have made inflation hawks very happy. It shows moderating wage growth. This is definitely not a wage-price spiral story.

Dean Baker / June 03, 2022

report informe

IMF

Derechos especiales de giro: una herramienta idónea para responder a la pandemia y a otros desafíos

La reciente emisión de $650 mil millones de derechos especiales de giro tuvo resultados sociales y económicos positivos para los países beneficiarios, y ratifican la necesidad de una emisión adicional en el futuro cercano.

Andrés Arauz, Kevin Cashman and Lara Merling / June 02, 2022

Article Artículo

Contrary to What You Read in the Paper, People Are Not Spending Down Their Savings

The reported decline in the saving rate is deceptive. It is more likely that people have made large gains in the stock market and are cashing out some of these gains and paying capital gains taxes on them.

Dean Baker / June 01, 2022

Article Artículo

Jobs

Preview: Lower Unemployment with Moderating Wage Growth

All signs point to another good month of job growth in May; that should push the unemployment rate down to at least 3.5 percent, making it tie for the lowest rate since 1969.

Dean Baker / June 01, 2022

Article Artículo

Environment

Who Cashes in After a California Wildfire?

There is no denying that climate change is going to create more jobs in the disaster-recovery industry. But whether those are jobs with strong worker protections and fair pay depends on government reassessing its role in dealing with this consequence of a

Matt Sedlar / May 31, 2022

Article Artículo

Economic Growth

Globalization and Trade

US Foreign Policy

Will US Rate Hikes Harm Developing Countries?

This tightening of policy aims to decelerate inflation, but it carries serious downside risks.

Joe Sammut / May 27, 2022

Article Artículo

Housing

Getting Rents Down, Converting Vacant Office Space to Residential

Remote work is now a fact of life. If the office space is converted to residential space, it will put downward pressure on rents more generally. This is bad news for landlords, but it will mean more money for renters.

Dean Baker / May 27, 2022

Article Artículo

Economic Growth

CBO Joins Team Transitory

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) sided clearly with those arguing the case for inflation being temporary.

Dean Baker / May 25, 2022

Article Artículo

Spotlight on Working-Class Asian American and Pacific Islander Women in the Workforce

The pandemic-fueled surge in anti-Asian violence creates a critical moment to rethink issues like occupational segregation and employment discrimination.

Julie Yixia Cai / May 24, 2022

Article Artículo

Economic Growth

Latin America and the Caribbean

The Impediment to Productivity Growth: Waste that Makes Some People Rich

Dean Baker / May 24, 2022

Article Artículo

Joe Biden Has Botched the Summit of the Americas

The United States is excluding Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua from the forthcoming Summit of the Americas. Washington probably wasn’t expecting that much of Latin America, led by Mexico’s Andrés Manuel López Obrador, would publicly push back in response.

Guillaume Long / May 23, 2022

Article Artículo