The EGIs: Analyzing the Economy Through an Equitable Growth Lens
Rajashri Chakrabarti, Dan Garcia, and Maxim Pinkovskiy
![Dectorative image of collage of polaroids of diverse group of people portraits.](https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/LSE_2023-equitable-growth-indicators.jpg?w=460)
Inflation remains elevated, labor markets are close to the strongest they have been, real consumption is up year-over year, but all of these observations are with respect to averages. Behind these macroeconomic trends can be widely varying experiences across different demographic and socioeconomic groups that make up our society. To provide researchers, practitioners, and the public with timely, regularly updated and comprehensive answers to these questions, we launched the Equitable Growth Indicators (EGIs)—a new tool to help foster the evolving discussion about economic inequality and equitable growth. To illustrate the utility of the EGIs, we provide examples of some striking differences in trends captured in the May release of the EGIs on inflation, real earnings, and real spending. More heterogeneity analysis and data are available at nyfed.org/egi.
Was the 2021‑22 Rise in Inflation Equitable?
Ruchi Avtar, Rajashri Chakrabarti, and Maxim Pinkovskiy
![Illustration: Prices: Who's paying more? shopping cart with dollar sign and up arrow.](https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/LSE_2022_inequality-series-fourteen-inflation.2_460.jpg?w=1024)
In our previous post, we discussed how the labor market recovery—the “maximum employment” half of the Federal Reserve System’s dual mandate—featured not only a return of overall employment rates to pre-pandemic levels, but also a narrowing of racial and ethnic gaps in employment rates. In this post, we take up the second half of the dual mandate—price stability—and discuss heterogeneity in inflation rates faced by different demographic groups during the rise in inflation in
2021-22. We find that, in contrast to inequalities in employment rates, disparities in inflation rates have widened during the recent inflationary episode, with Black and Hispanic Americans experiencing more inflation.