Given that a shortage of workers is a major source of today's surging inflation in the United States, policymakers should be devising a strategy to increase the active labor force. The right approach would both draw in older and younger non-workers and attack the epidemic of occupational licensing and credentialism.
SAN DIEGO – In the past few years, a million retired Americans have picked up a pickleball racket. We would have less inflation if they had picked up a hammer, wrench, or pencil instead. “Help Wanted” signs are everywhere, from coffee shops to pharmaceutical plants. Advanced economies could ease one major source of inflation by inducing more people to join the workforce, especially those at the two ends of the labor barbell: older people and young people.
SAN DIEGO – In the past few years, a million retired Americans have picked up a pickleball racket. We would have less inflation if they had picked up a hammer, wrench, or pencil instead. “Help Wanted” signs are everywhere, from coffee shops to pharmaceutical plants. Advanced economies could ease one major source of inflation by inducing more people to join the workforce, especially those at the two ends of the labor barbell: older people and young people.