A comparison between CPI, chained CPI, PCE price index, and HICP deflation:
All That Is Old Is New Again: Protection for Automobiles and Light Trucks
Forty years ago, I was working for Bob Crandall as an RA at Brookings, on how much the voluntary export restraints (VERs) added to the costs of a typical Japanese imported car. He found that number to be about $820 (a Datsun Stanza was about $6700 in 1981), and a comparable domestically produced car by about $370 (since the VER puts up a wall that allows domestic producers to raise prices). Today, according to Wells Fargo, the 25% tariffs would result in a vehicle assembled in Mexico or Canada to go up in price by $8000-$10000, while the average over all cars using imported parts will go up about $2100 (average car price in March 2024 is about $47000; a Ford F150 STX is about $42000).
The Ruble under Pressure
From Politico:
The ruble tumbled on Wednesday to its lowest level in over two years, as a mix of low oil prices, new sanctions against Russian businesses and burgeoning government spending on its war effort put ever-greater strain on the Russian economy.
The central bank reacted by suspending currency purchases for the rest of this year. That will restrict the supply of rubles and should support the exchange rate accordingly.
Trump 25% Tariffs: Wisconsinites “to get it good and hard”?
President-elect Trump has mentioned a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada. Time to think about how this would affect Wisconsin, a state that voted for Mr. Trump.
Six Measures of Core Instantaneous Inflation
With the core PCE deflator, we have these measures of what’s happening to core.
Business Cycle Indicators for Biden’s Economy in October
One of the last snapshots of the Biden economy show real consumption and personal income rising, with consumption rising 0.6% (vs. consensus of 0.3%), and faster than inflation. Here are some key indicators followed by the NBER’s Business Cycle Dating Committee.
Guest Contribution: “Can Musk find $2 trillion in spending cuts for Trump?”
Today, we present a guest post written by Jeffrey Frankel, Harpel Professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and formerly a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. An earlier version appeared at Project Syndicate and the Guardian.
Are You a Mainstream (Macro) Economist?
A self test (a follow up to this post):
When You Hear a Critique of Mainstream Economists (from Someone Who Doesn’t Know What “Mainstream” Economists Do), Run
“Trumpflation” Risks Likely Overstated by Lance Roberts via Zerohedge:
QCEW Employment Change Y/Y to June 2024
The percentage change is less than that for the CES estimate. Does this mean there are a lot fewer people employed that indicated by the official series (e.g. here)? Here’s data from 2023M06 onward: