Diapers, food, rent — around the world, prices are rising. So, what can we do about it?
Inflation is inescapable. At the grocery store and the gas station, in almost every country in the world, people are paying more — way more — for everything than they did just a couple of years ago.
Diapers in the US, food in Ghana, and home prices in India. What caused all this inflation? In the US, the Federal Reserve expects inflation to be about 2 percent a year. Right now, that’s true for some goods like clothing, prescription drugs, and education; they’re only slightly above that 2 percent mark. For other goods like used cars and trucks, gasoline, internet service, and phone plans, prices are actually lower than this time last year.
But let’s look at the cost of diapers. Between 2018 and 2022, the overall cost of diapers increased by 22 percent. Rent, airfare, dairy products, and baked goods all went up significantly, too. In this video, we explore three competing explanations for why prices are rising, as well as different policy options for bringing them down.
Read more on some of the sources and ideas for the video above:
America’s monopoly problem, in one chart
Inflation: No evidence of a wage-price spiral
“Prices, Profits, and Power: An Analysis of 2021 Firm-Level Markups”
Inflation & Corporate Power Explained: Supply Disruptions & Corporate Power. The Groundwork Collaborative
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