Wall Street Journal (April 23)
On Friday, “the Bureau of Economic Analysis will release a new way to measure the economy each quarter.” Gross output is a supply side figure, nearly twice as large as GDP, and “the first significant macroeconomic tool to come into regular use since gross domestic product was developed in the 1940s.” Gross output is “a better, more comprehensive measure of the nation’s economic activity than GDP, and a better indication of the economy’s growth prospects.”
Financial Times (February 6, 2014)
“In an era when much of the world is worried about the possibility of drifting into Japanese-style deflation, one country has precisely the opposite problem: unbridled inflation.” Over the last 5 years, India’s consumer prices have been rising annually by close to 10%. “That is no small matter for the multitudinous poor, for whom escalating food prices can summon the spectre of hunger. Nor does it do much for macroeconomic stability, which India badly needs in this year of tapering and tricky political transition.” Fortunately, new central bank governor Raghuram Rajan looks “up to the task.” With his tough policies, he may prove the Paul Volcker of India.
Tags: Central bank, CPI, Deflation, Food, Governor, Hunger, India, Inflation, Japan, Macroeconomics, Paul Volker, Poor, Raghuram Rajan, Stability
