Inflation and distribution during the post-COVID recovery: a Kaleckian approach

Mark Setterfield

No 2209, Working Papers from New School for Social Research, Department of Economics

Abstract: The early stages of recovery from the recession induced by the COVID-19 pandemic have been accompanied by a marked increase in inflation in the US and elsewhere. Much has been made of this outcomes, and the economic distress associated with it, in popular discussion of the economy. This paper provides a Kaleckian conflicting-claims analysis of inflation during the post-COVID recovery, that distinguishes between rising wages, pandemic-related supply shocks, and corporate price-setting behaviour as sources of inflationary pressure. A key conclusion that arises from the co-determination of inflation and distributional outcomes in the Kaleckian framework is that distributional developments that have further disadvantaged working households, rather than inflation per se, are the chief source of recent economic distress - and should be the chief cause for concern among policy makers.

Keywords: Inflation; COVID-19; conflicting claims; wage share; income distribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E02 E11 E12 E25 E31 E64 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2022-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hme, nep-mon and nep-pke
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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http://www.economicpolicyresearch.org/econ/2022/NSSR_WP_092022.pdf First version, 2022 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Inflation and distribution during the post-COVID recovery: a Kaleckian approach (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:new:wpaper:2209

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