hello, i need an essay or paper on inflation in the US by thursday,
april 15th. i am not looking for any graphs, etc. i basically need any
essays or papers talking about inflation from this year and last year.

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Clarification of Question by rpabla-ga on 13 Apr 2004 20:39 PDT

this year and or last year

Hi rpabla!!

I hope that the following info helps you!!

"Inflation rates have been low, with the Consumer Price Index
averaging around 2% in 2002 and 2003. We expect inflation to remain
low in 2004, possibly lower than the recent average, as the increases
in energy prices that occurred earlier this year work their way out of
the economic system."
From "2003 Annual Report United States Postal Service":
http://www.usps.com/history/anrpt03/html/mdoutlook2.htm


At the "Budget of the United States Government, FY 2004, MSR, Economic
Assumptions" page you can read:
"Inflation: As measured by the CPI, inflation during the four quarters
of 2003 is projected to be 1.9 percent, about the same as in the
budget. Inflation during the first quarter was higher than expected,
largely due to the surge in energy prices, but for the year this is
about offset by the subsequent decline in oil prices and consequent
lower inflation. For the next few years, inflation is projected to be
slightly below that anticipated in the budget because of the current
very low inflation rate. Even as the expansion gathers momentum, the
excess slack in labor and capital markets is likely to keep inflation
under control. In the outyears, the CPI is projected to rise 2.3
percent per year; the broader GDP price index is projected to rise 1.8
percent yearly. These are the same inflation rates as in the budget."
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2004/assumptions.html


At this page you can also see a chart that shows, with other items,
the Consumer Price Index Projections for years 2004-05-06-07-08.


See also:
"Economic Forecast for the United States - Inflation" from the
California State University, Sacramento:
http://www.csus.edu/indiv/j/jensena/sfp/us/#C


"Economic Review and Forecast (2004-2008)":
http://www.comerica.com/cma/cda/main/0,1555,1_A_1183,00.html


"Table Containing History of CPI-U U.S. All Items Indexes and Annual
Percent Changes From 1913 to Present":
ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/cpi/cpiai.txt


You will also find usefull the following article:
"Inflation Targeting for the United States" by Bennett T. McCallum:
http://wpweb2k.gsia.cmu.edu/faculty/mccallum/ITforUS5.pdf


Search strategy:
inflation united states 2003
inflation united states 2004
inflation united states forecast


Please feel free to request for further assistance if it needed before
rate this answer, I will be glad to respond all your requests.

Regards.
livioflores-ga

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Clarification of Answer by livioflores-ga on 14 Apr 2004 09:37 PDT

Hi again!!

I found more useful sources for you:

From the "Bureau of Labor Statistics":

"Consumer Price Index Summary - MARCH 2004":
http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

"Archived News Releases for Consumer Price Index":
(I think that you will find here what you are looking for)
http://stats.bls.gov/schedule/archives/cpi_nr.htm

"Consumer Price Index Home Page":
http://stats.bls.gov/cpi/


Other sources:
"South-Western EconData -- Consumer Price Index - Current Status and
Perspectives - December 2003":
http://www.swlearning.com/economics/econ_data/cpi/cpi_update.html

"The Dismal Scientist: Consumer Price Index at Aug. 2003":
http://www.econ.upenn.edu/Courses/2004/spring/econ002_Eudey/cpi_0903.pdf

"Inflation Leads to Protectionism" by Stefan Karlsson:
http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=1460


Hope this helps!!

Regards.
livioflores-ga