The Economic Policy Institute, whose mission is to “to defend and promote the interests of workers in economic policy debates,” also does not believe the U.S. is currently in a recession, but said the Federal Reserve should halt its aggressive anti-inflationary policies to avoid further declines.
Media Matters
August 4, 2022
“The effect of a 0.75% rate increase on mortgage and credit card interest rates is probably already baked in – both have risen in recent months and it’s the most-obvious way rate increases affect households,” Josh Bivens, research director at the Economic Policy Institute, said.
The Hill
August 4, 2022
But so long as hiring continues, liberal economists believe that public opinion will change and fears of a recession will fade. The White House analyses are “grounded in data,” said Heidi Shierholz, president of the liberal Economic Policy Institute.
“People will understand that if we continue to have extremely low unemployment that the idea we’re in a recession just doesn’t make a lot of sense,” she said.
Associated Press
August 4, 2022
“If they continue on a hawkish path much longer, a recession is quite probable. This would be a huge and avoidable policy mistake,” said Josh Bivens, research director at the Economic Policy Institute, who backed Powell’s renomination because of pro-worker changes made to the Fed’s operating framework. The damaged caused, he argued, would be “far greater than that by single-digit inflation rates.”
Reuters
August 4, 2022
Josh Bivens, the director of research at the liberal Economic Policy Institute, echoed those warnings on Wednesday and warned “the cost of a recession would be far higher than any benefit to piling on more contractionary policy to rein in already-fading inflation.”
New York Times
August 4, 2022
“Part of the issue is that as an inflation control strategy, interest rate hikes are not so great right now,” said Josh Bivens, research director at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington D.C. “I think a lot of the sources of inflation we’re seeing are things that interest rate hikes aren’t going to really get at.”
Scripps TV
July 20, 2022
The rate of unionisation is now even lower than it was before workers had a federally protected right to join unions. That is no coincidence. Unions give workers and their communities the power to ensure that the American economy’s productivity gains are shared more evenly. As unions have withered, the benefits of increased economic capacity have flowed to a very small share of the population.
The Economist
July 20, 2022
“People most hurt by high inflation are also seeing a ton of job growth,” said Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. “Given the burden of high inflation and high job availability, it’s not at all a surprise to me that you’d see people doubling up on jobs.”
The Washington Post
July 20, 2022
according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute, net productivity rose 61.8 percent, while the hourly rate of pay for the average worker increased by only 17.5 percent.3 In other words, even though today’s worker is more productive than ever before, she has seen wages stagnate, prices increase, profits disappear into deep pockets, politics favor the wealthy, and working conditions worsen.
Nonprofit Quarterly
July 20, 2022