Economics

Inflation is back with a vengeance across the globe, and everyday people are feeling the pain. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer prices have surged at rates not seen in decades, catching many households and policymakers off guard. Shoppers from Chicago to Cairo have watched the cost of food, fuel, housing, and other essentials climb relentlessly. Yet even as paychecks grew in nominal terms, wages have failed to keep pace with the soaring prices.… Read more

The world’s leading economies are in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis – a situation where the prices of essential goods and services are rising much faster than household incomes. In the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union, inflation has surged to the highest levels in decades, eroding real wages and straining household budgets. Energy and food bills have spiked, rent and home prices are out of reach for many, and basic expenses like childcare, healthcare, and education are increasingly unaffordable.… Read more

Despite years of reported GDP growth and historically low headline unemployment, many people feel no growth in their living standards. Median wages and household incomes have barely budged in real terms, while essential costs — housing, energy, healthcare, childcare — have surged. For example, in the U.S. median household income (adjusted for inflation) was only 4.0% higher in 2023 than 2019, effectively just recovering lost ground. In the UK, official figures show that median real disposable income fell 1.6% from 2019/20 to 2022/23, and dropped another 2.0% in 2023/24, erasing much of last decade’s gains.… Read more