Misery index
The misery index ( closely : misery index ) is the sum of inflation and unemployment rates.
The poverty index was introduced into the scientific discussion by Arthur Okun as an economic indicator . The assumption behind this is that both unemployment and inflation have high economic and social costs .
variants
The Chicago economist Robert Barro has also created a misery index. Its Barro Misery Index , published in the 1970s , also included economic growth and interest rates.
Sometimes the misery index is calculated with double weighting of unemployment. This is intended to reflect a corresponding value judgment that unemployment is worse than inflation. This view is reflected in the well-known quote from Helmut Schmidt : "Better 5% inflation than 5% unemployment". At the end of Schmidt's term of office, however, both indicators were over 5%.
criticism
From an economic point of view, the misery index is neither accepted nor useful, but has been shown to be a good indicator in elections in the past. If the index is high, governments are voted out more often than if the index is low.
Trivia
- An American grindcore band is called Misery Index and its songs deal with socially critical and political topics.
Individual evidence
- ↑ * Misery Index for the USA
- ↑ Barros misery index ( Memento of the original from September 1, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Misery Index II (PDF; 21 kB)
