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Is High Inflation an Exchange Rate Phenomenon?

Drawing on global data between 1961 - 2023, PERI researcher Hasan Cömert, Tural Yusifzada, and Kagan Parmaksiz examine the extent to which nominal exchange rate depreciations are strong predictors of high inflation episodes. They find that, on its own, exchange rate depreciations can explain between 63 – 77 percent of high inflation episodes across the range of economies and time periods. Food and energy supply shocks are the other main contributors. These results highlight the critical role of exchange rate dynamics, along with supply shocks, in explaining high inflation episodes.

Sex-Selective Abortion and the Collapse of the Soviet Union

PERI researcher Lawrence King, Raymond Caraher, and Shih-Yen Pan examine the causal effect of the Soviet Union’s collapse on sex-selection abortions in Post-Soviet countries. Their findings indicate that the collapse of the Soviet Union explains 64 percent of the approximately 192,000 missing girls in the Post-Soviet states in the 1990s. The conventional theory of pre-natal sex selection involves the introduction of modern sex-determination technology into a cultural environment that values sons over daughters. Their findings suggest that economic and political shocks can also be key drivers behind increases in sex-selective abortions.

How to Eliminate Plastic Water Bottles in the U.S.

As of 2018, U.S. residents purchased more than 70 billion plastic water bottles. Virtually all these bottles are fossil fuel-based products, and 86 percent are used only once. Such fossil fuel-based single-use plastic bottles inflict a range of severe negative impacts on the environment and human health. Emily Diaz-Loar examines six possible alternatives: recycling, bioplastics, paperboard cartons, glass, aluminum, and stainless steel. Diaz-Loar shows that in terms of both environmental impacts and production costs, the most viable substitutes are reusable bottles made from either aluminum or stainless steel.

Recent Research

U.S. Teachers, Overwork, and Perceptions of Work-Time Reductions: Evidence from Massachusetts
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Implicit Coordination in Sellers’ Inflation: How Cost Shocks Facilitate Price Hikes
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Distributional Implications and Share Ownership of Record Oil and Gas Profits
Finance, Jobs & Macroeconomics
Gregor Semieniuk, Isabella Weber, Iain Weaver, Evan Wasner, Benjamin Braun, Philip B. Holden, Pablo Salas, Jean-Francois Mercure, Neil R. Edwards
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Sex-Selective Abortion and the Collapse of the Soviet Union
Health Policy
Raymond Caraher, Shih-Yen Pan, Lawrence King
October, 2024
Is “High Inflation” Always and Everywhere an Exchange Rate Phenomenon?
Finance, Jobs & Macroeconomics
Tural Yusifzada, Hasan Cömert, Kagan Parmaksiz
October, 2024
The Economics of Eliminating Plastic Water Bottles in the United States
Environmental and Energy Economics
Emily Diaz-Loar
October, 2024
Potential Impacts of a Full Minimum Wage for Tipped Workers in Massachusetts
Labor Markets, Wages & Poverty
Jeannette Wicks-Lim, Jasmine Kerrissey
October, 2024
The Profitability of Bank Capital and Household Debt
Finance, Jobs & Macroeconomics
Hyun Woong Park
August, 2024
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