Real Income, Unemployment and Subjective Well-Being: Revisiting the Costs and Benefits of Inflation Reduction in Canada

The benefits of disinflation have often been thought of as the discounted value of the net income increases that might result. This weighs lower incomes from higher short-term unemployment against expected long-term income increases. Such measures of economic welfare typically find large net gains from disinflation. However, studies of subjective well-being show that this overstages gains in individuals' well-being because unemployment has significant non-monetary costs, while higher average incomes may not be associated with significant increases in average well-being. A simulation of the 1990s disinflation in Canada shows that a net loss in average well-being could result. Only if lower inflation raises well-being directly are significant net gains possible.