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By Patrick Carroll
While we often speak of measurements of inflation (such as “inflation went up by 3 percent”), in reality, one cannot accurately measure it, given official measurements consist of arbitrary weighted averages. It is better to see inflation as qualitative, not quantitative.
53 sats \ 5 replies \ @Scoresby 11h
It’s hard to ditch a useful term—even if it’s wrong.
Ain't that the truth. I don't like the proposed replacement, though. Quantify is only very slightly better.
There is a certain allure to the Big Mac index.
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155 sats \ 2 replies \ @Signal312 9h
In Zimbabwe during the hyperinflation there was a "3 boiled eggs" index, that was actually reported on in financial reports.
The Big Mac index seems too changeable. It might just be me, but I feel like hamburgers have been getting thinner.
Yesterday I had a reminder of shrinkflation - I just looked in a bathroom cabinet, where we had stocked up on some shampoo on sale. The new bottle vs the old one (bottle size was different, but both were called a "family pack" and were otherwise the same) was a shrinkage of 15% in contents.
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162 sats \ 1 reply \ @Scoresby 9h
Parker Lewis has been doing a yearly check on the price of ribeye at the same grocery store for five years.
Also grocery store prices are an excellent gauge because they can’t gouge. Profit margins are 1 or 2 percent
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I’m not sold on the solution either. I just think these methodological critiques are useful context for interpreting official statistics.
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Clean links, no tracking BS? Much hotter!
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