Economics Explored Live for 15 October 2021, the first edition of what I’m planning to be a weekly livestream, covered:
- the growing concern internationally about accelerating inflation, prompted by the latest US CPI figures (see chart below;
- the September ABS Labour Force data revealing big drops in hours worked and workforce participation in the locked-down economies of NSW and Victoria; and
- my state of Queensland’s relatively low vaccination rate (72% for 1st dose vs 84% nationally) and what it could mean for the state’s reopening and the economy – it’s pretty obvious the Queensland Premier should set a date for re-opening ASAP to encourage people to get vaccinated promptly, as suggested by the Queensland branch of the Australian Medical Association.
Here’s the video of the livestream, which was streamed to YouTube and LinkedIn Live:
Regarding inflationary pressures in advanced economies, I quoted leading market economist Stephen Roach from his recent Financial Times op-ed The sequencing trap that risks stagflation 2.0:
As brilliant and lucky as they have been, today’s generation of central bankers is afflicted with the same sense of denial that proved problematic in the 1970s. Due to a lack of experience and institutional memory of that tough period, the risk of another monetary policy blunder cannot be taken lightly.
Certainly, central banks have been running a massive monetary policy experiment with ultra-low interest rates and Quantitative Easing, which have been associated with double-digit growth rates in money stocks. I agree with Roach regarding the potential for a “monetary policy blunder”.
Other links relevant to the livestream include:
Pete Faulkner’s post Labour Force; national data hit by lockdowns while QLD powers ahead
QEW post featuring my The Other Side interview on Australia’s economic suicide
Vaccination numbers and statistics
ABS: New data shows lockdown impacts on business turnover
Cross-posted at http://www.queenslandeconomywatch.com. Please get in touch with any questions, comments and suggestions by emailing us at contact@economicsexplored.com. Economics Explored is available via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, and other podcasting platforms.