Justin Wolfers, professor of public policy and economics, has made numerous appearances in the media recently, providing his expertise on the current state of our economy. Here is a compilation of his recent contributions:
'Both a warning and a threat': Economics professor decodes Fed chair's comments, CNN, August 29, 2022
“It’s both a warning and a threat. He’s trying to set the political ground to make sure that people understand that if inflation remains high, the economy will have to slow. He will be a big part of slowing the economy. And in reality, what does that mean for people’s pocketbooks? It means high interest rates lead to less spending, particularly fewer businesses expanding, fewer people buying houses, and industries like construction will get hit really hard. But for all of us, it means that corporations are going to hire fewer people. Unemployment might rise. Your ability to extract a pay rise might fall away a little bit. And so, Senator Warren was absolutely right. The threat here is there is economic pain in the future for many of us.”
Private payrolls grow less than expected, NPR Marketplace, August 31, 2022
“The way the government numbers are constructed is the government calls a whole bunch of companies and says, ‘What happened to employment last month?'” explained Justin Wolfers, a professor of economics at the University of Michigan.
Economist offers "counter-intuitive" advice on student loans, CNN, September 2, 2022
“Well I am heading to college and I’m talking to my students every day. And in fact, I tell them the opposite. I say, go ahead and borrow. And that might sound like counterintuitive advice from an economist, but here’s how I want you to think about it…Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way that we could move money from your future self, who’s got a lot of income, to your current self while you’re in college? There is – it’s called student loans. Go ahead and borrow and shift some money from that part of your life where you’re going to be wealthier to that part right now when you really need it."
