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Economists Could Be Using Bad Data to Make Big Decisions

Big Take DC
Big Take DC
Episode • Jan 25, 2024 • 16m

Last year, as the US Federal Reserve kept raising interest rates to rein in inflation, Chair Jerome Powell kept pointing to one category of data that was guiding its decision: The labor market. But it’s possible that the labor market data-of-choice may have been faulty.

Having a clear picture of how Americans are really doing is crucial during a presidential election cycle. Bloomberg’s Saleha Mohsin talked with Claudia Sahm, an ex-Fed economist, and with Odd Lots podcast hosts Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway about whether economists have the best data to make key decisions about the US economy.

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