Children from high-income families acquire more skills than those from low-income families, which creates half of the current generation’s income inequality. But transfers and large wage increases for low-income workers decreased income inequality in Latin America between 2000 and 2010. Latin America relies more on regressive taxes than on progressive ones. –economist.com
Category: Economics in the News
To Surge or Not to Surge: the Algorithm Is the Question
From rides to burgers, consumers may balk when differential pricing comes to their favorite real-world business.—ft.com, March 11, 2024
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Real GDP in the United States increased at an annual rate of 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 2024, down from 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023. Compared to the fourth quarter, the deceleration in U.S. real GDP primarily reflected decelerations in consumer spending, exports, and government spending. These movements were partly … Continue reading Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Cities With Soda Taxes Saw Sales of Sugary Drinks Fall as Prices Rose
Sales of sugary drinks fell in five U.S. cities, after they implemented taxes targeting those drinks. On average, prices for sugar-sweetened drinks went up by 33.1% and total expenditure went down by 33%. Expenditure on sugary drinks outside of these cities increased.—npr.org
Euro Slides as Powell’s Hawkish Stance Bolsters US Dollar
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell stated that the Fed would not hesitate to raise interest rates if needed. With this news, the U.S. dollar strengthened against the euro.—fxstreet.com
US Productivity Rises at Fastest Rate in Three Years
Nonfarm labor productivity increased at a 4.7% annualized rate last quarter, the fastest since the third quarter of 2020, the Labor Department said.—reuters.com
Maersk Cuts 10,000 Jobs as Shipping Demand Falls
Maersk already cut 6,500 jobs earlier this year, but the firm says worsening prices for shipping by sea require further job cuts. The Entertainer Toy company, which engages Maersk to ship its freight has seen prices fall from $18,000 per container last year to $2,000 today.—bbc.com
Strongest US Growth Since 2021
Gross domestic product is projected to have grown at an annual rate of 4.5% last quarter. The Fed has been trying to quell inflation by dampening demand while avoiding a recession. The Fed chief said that policymakers are likely to hold rates steady at their next meeting.—bloomberg.com
Auto CEOs Make 300 Times What Workers Make. How That Stacks Up
The ratio of automakers’ CEO’s pay to the median autoworker’s pay equals 300. Industries that employ highly skilled and well-compensated workers have relatively low pay ratios. Industries with many low-wage workers have relatively high pay ratios.—wsj.com
Footwear Prices Rise at Fastest Rate in 5 Months
In September, women’s footwear prices rose 2.1 percent and kid’s footwear prices rose 1.1 percent. That was offset by a decline in men’s footwear prices, which were down 1 percent.—footwearnews.com