Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman wrote in a New York Times op-ed piece:
- "The plunge in the misery index reflects both what didn't happen and what did"
- "What didn't happen, despite a drumbeat of dire warnings in the news media, was a recession. The U.S. economy added four million jobs over the past year, and the unemployment rate has remained near a 50-year low."
- "What did happen was a rapid decline in inflation"
The "misery index" rose as prices soared in 2021 and 2022, but fell over the past 12 months. Krugman said in his piece that its been a "remarkable turnaround".
Check out what else has turned around!
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The Misery Index is an economic indicator invented by economist Arthur Okun, an adviser to President Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s.
In essence it adds the unemployment rate to the inflation rate.
Often used to indicate economic discomfort for the average person, in that both high unemployment and high inflation create economic costs for people.
