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The Unemployment-Inflation Trade-off Revisited: The Phillips Curve in COVID Times

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Abstract

Using a New Keynesian Phillips curve, we document the rapid and persistent increase in the natural rate of unemployment, ut*, in the aftermath of the pandemic and characterize its implications for inflation dynamics. While the bulk of the inflation surge is attributed to temporary supply factors, we also find an important role for current and expected negative unemployment gaps. Through the lens of the model, the 2022-23 disinflation was driven by the expectation that the unemployment gap will close through a progressive decline in ut* and a rise in the unemployment rate. This implies that convergence to long-run price stability depends critically on expectations about labor market tightness. Using a variety of cross-sectional data sources, we provide corroborating evidence of unusually tight labor market conditions, consistent with our estimated rise in ut*.

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  • Richard K. Crump & Stefano Eusepi & Marc Giannoni & Aysegul Sahin, 2024. "The Unemployment-Inflation Trade-off Revisited: The Phillips Curve in COVID Times," Staff Reports 1086, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fednsr:97912
    DOI: 10.59576/sr.1086
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    Cited by:

    1. Verbrugge, Randal & Zaman, Saeed, 2023. "The hard road to a soft landing: Evidence from a (modestly) nonlinear structural model," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    2. Faberman, R. Jason & Mueller, Andreas I. & Şahin, Ayşegül, 2022. "Has the Willingness to Work Fallen during the Covid Pandemic?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    3. Kakuho Furukawa & Yoshihiko Hogen & Yosuke Kido, "undated". "Labor Market of Regular Workers in Japan: A Perspective from Job Advertisement Data," Bank of Japan Working Paper Series 23-E-7, Bank of Japan.
    4. Gadi Barlevy & R. Jason Faberman & Bart Hobijn & Ayşegül Şahin, 2023. "The Shifting Reasons for Beveridge-Curve Shifts," NBER Working Papers 31783, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Jonathan H. Wright, 2023. "Breaks in the Phillips Curve: Evidence from Panel Data," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2023-015, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    6. Ángel Ubide, 2022. "The Inflation Surge of 2021–22: Scarcity of Goods and Commodities, Strong Labor Markets and Anchored Inflation Expectations," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics;Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), vol. 57(2), pages 93-98, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Phillips curve; unemployment; inflation; natural rate of unemployment; expectations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D84 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Expectations; Speculations
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts

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