In the first six months of 2022, as real economic output contracted while labor costs expanded faster than inflation (>10% nominal in Q2), labor productivity declined at the fastest rate since record keeping began in 1948.
This is textbook stagflation.
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The real question is why is ben hunt such a doomer that he makes up definitions? Stagflation, by definition, requires high unemployment. We don’t have that.
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Well Doomer Ben, what say you? Wikipedia does say high unemployment is a necessary element…
Stagflation is a portmanteau of stagnant growth and inflation. That’s literally the construction and sole meaning of the word. Attaching conditions like ‘high unemployment’ is a classic academic Christmas tree effect, making this bad word unique to a single historical experience.
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