logo
Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Is the Biden administration primarily responsible for the recent rise in inflation?

By Jacob Alabab-Moser
NO

Biden's COVID-19 stimulus spending is not the primary cause of recent inflation. Pandemic-related government spending began under Trump to protect the country from COVID-19's economic fallout. Moreover, research across 80 countries in the postwar period by economists Son Hang and Casey Mulligan found "little relation between inflation and nonmilitary government spending."

Last month, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell discussed the factors driving inflation, citing:

  • Supply bottlenecks due to pandemic-related disruptions in global production and trade.
  • Labor shortages, which lead to supply shortages due to decreased productivity.
  • Increased demand "as the economy continues to reopen and spending rebounds." 

Powell opined that the inflation is temporary: as supply chains are restored, "inflation is expected to drop back toward our longer-run 2 percent goal."

In a recent poll, 62% of Americans said Biden was "somewhat" or "very" responsible for increasing inflation.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
FACT BRIEF BY
facebook
twitter
email
email