How much does inflation vary by income? Depends on how it's measured

Munnell, Alicia Haydock, and Diana Horvath. “How much does inflation vary by income? Depends on how it's measured”. Issue in Brief 22-16, Chestnut Hill, Mass.: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, September 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:109556.
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Abstract

The brief's key findings are: (1) Today's high inflation rates raise the question of how inflation impacts households differently by income. (2) To explore this issue, the analysis combines data from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Consumer Expenditure Survey. (3) The results show that low- and high-income households face roughly similar inflation rates for items included in the CPI. (4) However, the rich can afford to save more, so a sizable share of their income is not exposed to inflation today. (5) While they will eventually spend their savings, they will have years to rearrange their spending patterns.

Title
How much does inflation vary by income? Depends on how it's measured
Author
Munnell, Alicia Haydock
Horvath, Diana
School
Carroll School of Management
Discipline
Finance
Center
Center for Retirement Research
Genre
report
Date Issued
September 2022
Publisher
Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
Series Title
Issue in Brief
Series Number
22-16
Persistent Link
http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:109556
Use Restrictions
These materials are made available for use in research, teaching and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The publisher or original authors may retain copyright to the materials.
Subject
Financing Retirement

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