Impact of disinflation on income of workers and firms

Benoit Mojon, Gabriela Nodari and Stefano Siviero in this BIS Bulletin article:

• Insights into how the incomes of workers and firms absorb the disinflation burden in the euro area and the United States can be gained by decomposing changes in the GDP deflator into its underlying components.
• Nominal wage increases of 4–5% in the euro area and 3–4% in the United States this year and next year are compatible with bringing inflation within reach of 2% by end-2024, provided that import price growth slows and profit margins stabilise or slightly shrink.
• From a historical perspective, the 2023–24 disinflation path for prices and nominal wages is within the range of past disinflation episodes in both economies, although it remains uncertain how price and wage setters will react to the above-target inflation from 2021 onwards.

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