Krugman vs. Ferguson: Letting the Data Speak – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com

Krugman vs. Ferguson: Letting the Data Speak – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com:

“In fact, the recent increase in Treasury yields is almost entirely due to a reduction in the probability of the deflationary (low nominal interest rates) scenario. Score this round for Krugman.
While Ferguson wrongly diagnosed the cause of the rise in interest rates, he is right that the markets are spooked about the risk of an inflationary breakout. There’s about a 7 percent chance that 25-year interest rates will exceed 10 percent, although surprisingly, this risk was slightly higher back in February. This is a fairly extreme scenario: long-term interest rates have not been above 10 percent since inflation was tamed in the mid-1980’s.”

(Via NY Times.)

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