According to a survey conducted between July 9 and July 11, 2022, 45 percent of Americans thought that Joe Biden was highly responsible for the current trend in the inflation rate. This is compared to 26 percent of Americans who said President Biden did not have a lot of responsibility for the current inflation rate.

Inflation in the U.S. Global events in 2022 had a significant impact on the United States. Inflation rose from 1.4 percent in January 2021 to 9.1 percent in June 2022. Significantly higher prices of basic goods led to increased concern over the state of the economy, and the ability to cover increasing monthly costs with the same income. Low interest rates, COVID-19-related supply constraints, corporate profiteering, and strong consumer spending had already put pressure on prices before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Despite rising wages on paper, the rapid growth of consumer prices resulted in an overall decline in real hourly earnings in the first half of 2022.

How much control does Joe Biden have over inflation? The bulk of economic performance and the inflation rate is determined by factors outside the President’s direct control, but U.S. presidents are often held accountable for it. Some of those factors are market forces, private business, productivity growth, the state of the global economy, and policies of the Federal Reserve. Although high-spending decisions such as the 2021 COVID-19 relief bill may have contributed to rising inflation rates, the bill has been seen by economists as a necessary intervention for preventing a recession at the time, as well as being of significant importance to low-income workers impacted by the pandemic.

The most important tool for curbing inflation and controlling the U.S. economy is the Federal Reserve. The Reserve has the ability to set, raise, and lower interest rates and determine the wider monetary policy for the United States – something out of the president’s control. In June 2022, the Reserve announced it would raise interest rates 0.75 percent for the second time that year – hoisting the rate to a target range of 2.25 to 2.5 percent – in an attempt to slow consumer demand and balance demand with supply. However, it can often take time before the impacts of interventions by the Federal Reserve are seen in the public’s day-to-day lives. Most economists expect this wave of inflation to pass in a year to 18 months.

Of the major developed and emerging economies, China had the lowest inflation rate at 0.1 percent in December 2024. On the other end of the spectrum, the inflation rate in Russia stood at nearly 10 percent. The country's inflation rate increased sharply after the country's President, Vladimir Putin, decided to invade Ukraine, declined somewhat in 2023, before increasing slowly again since. The rate of inflation reflects changes in the cost of a specified basket containing a representative selection of goods and services. It is derived from the consumer price index (CPI).

Iran’s inflation rate rose sharply to 34.79 percent in 2019 and was projected to rise another 14 percentage points before slowly starting to decline. Given the recent sanctions by the United States regarding the nuclear deal, this number has both political and economic implications. Political implications President Hassan Rouhani won the 2017 election based on economic promises, many stemming from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran Nuclear Deal. Lifting these sanctions opened the Iranian economy to many opportunities, including the chance to benefit from increased oil exports. The JCPOA was an integral part of the Rouhani campaign, so any economic hardship that is linked to the deal will likely be blamed on the president. Economic implications High inflation leads to high interest rates, which leads to less borrowing. Less borrowing means less investment, which slows economic growth. This slower growth often leads to higher inflation, which is what economists call an inflationary spiral. As such, Iran will have difficulty achieving substantial GDP growth until inflation returns to manageable rates.

Inflation Rate in Argentina decreased to 66.90 percent in February from 84.50 percent in January of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Argentina Inflation Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

According to a poll conducted at the end of 2022, Americans were feeling quite pessimistic about the coming year. 90 percent of Americans felt negatively about the prospect of political conflict in 2023.

The Economy 2022 was a difficult year for many Americans, as it was for many around the world. After a year of high inflation, record fuel prices, and decreased financial security, the country greeted 2023 with high rates of skepticism and caution. Although the U.S. economy itself has experienced a strong rebound from the pandemic recession compared with other major economies, a sustained decline in consumer spending power thanks to wage growth not keeping pace with inflation has everyday Americans feeling the pinch.

U.S. political landscape The political scene in the U.S. also had a tumultuous few years in the lead up to 2023. The election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States in 2016 left many voters reeling and the country more divided than ever. The beginning of 2021 was market by the January 6th attack on the Capitol, as well as the inauguration of Joe Biden. Additionally, the country continued to grapple with a politicized response to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions. 2022 began with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, ushering in the beginning of a global fuel and inflation crisis. In the midst of hardening economic conditions, the Supreme Court overturned its ruling on Roe v. Wade, returning the power to decide abortion restrictions to state legislatures.

The 2022 midterm elections saw Republicans win enough seats to take back control of the House of Representatives, but saw the GOP ultimately underperform compared to predictions at the time. The first day of the 2023 congressional term was marked by the inability of the Republican Party to unify itself behind one candidate for Speaker of the House, leading to a once in a century multi-round of Speaker elections. With new members of the House not able to be sworn in until a Speaker is elected, 2023 had a difficult start.

The Consumer Price Index gauges the price changes in a basket of goods and services in a defined time period. In Argentina, the CPI in April 2024 was 289 percent higher than the one registered the same month of the previous year, with this figure being the largest monthly inflation rate since, at least, the beginning of 2018. The Argentinian inflation rate has been experiencing a steep increase from December 2020 onwards, when the decreasing trend witnessed since December 2019 came to an end. Long history of inflation in Latin America High inflation rates are nothing new in Latin America. In 2023, the region's inflation rate was 14.41 percent, while the global average was much lower at 6.78 percent. Nonetheless, the main drivers of this are Venezuela and Argentina, both being in the upper table of countries with the highest inflation rates in the world. During the last few years, Venezuela entered a period with five-digits inflation rates, having to issue a new currency and implementing new policies to control price increases.

A history of hyperinflation During the last couple of years, inflation has been a constant among the main problems the Argentine society faces. The country returned to a three-digit inflation rate with former president Alberto Fernández, and the constant price increases took a toll on households across the board. Nevertheless, the problem is far from a recent one or the worst it's ever been, in 1989 and 1990, the inflation rate was over 2,000 percent, reaching for the status of hyperinflation. Commonly, hyperinflation is defined as price increases with over 50 percent per month.

In 2018, the average inflation rate in Egypt amounted to about 20.85 percent, a slight decrease compared to the previous year, when it peaked at 23.53 percent.

Political unrest

Egypt has been shaken by political unrest and turmoil for years now, and these events affect the economy as well. On January 25, 2011, Egyptians started protesting police brutality under then-president Hosni Mubarak, demanding an end to his reign. The protests were met with violence by armed forces, resulting in more unrest and looting. In the end, hundreds of Egyptians had lost their lives and over 6,000 were injured. After Mubarak’s subsequent resignation and the Muslim Brotherhood taking power in the country, Mohamed Morsi was elected President in 2012. He also was overthrown a year later after protests and was imprisoned. The current President, Abdel Fattah es-Sisi, was involved in overthrowing Morsi and took office in June 2014. Sisi introduced a number of economic reforms, but they did not succeed in stabilizing Egypt’s economy.

Economic unrest

2017 saw the Egyptian inflation rate skyrocket from 10.2 percent in 2016 to more than double that at 23.5 percent. Ever since, inflation has recovered only slowly, although projections today see it levelling off below ten percent in the future. Around the same year, Egypt’s GDP dropped to below 240 billion U.S. dollars, a historical low. Unemployment, another key indicator, has steadily been between 12 to 13 percent - one reason for this is Egypt’s reliance on agriculture, which does not factor into the unemployment rate. National debt has also increased dramatically over the last few years. All in all, the times of economic unrest are not yet over.

Due to the recent hyperinflation crisis in Venezuela, the average inflation rate in Venezuela is estimated to be around 150 percent in 2025. However, this is well below the peak of 63,000 percent observed in 2018.What is hyperinflation?In short, hyperinflation is a very high inflation rate that accelerates quickly. It can be caused by a government printing huge amounts of new money to pay for its expenses. The subsequent rapid increase of prices causes the country’s currency to lose value and shortages in goods to occur. People then typically start hoarding goods, which become even more scarce and expensive, money becomes worthless, financial institutions go bankrupt, and eventually, the country’s economy collapses. The Venezuelan descent into hyperinflationIn Venezuela, the economic catastrophe began with government price controls and plummeting oil prices, which caused state-run oil companies to go bankrupt. The government then starting printing new money to cope, thus prices rose rapidly, unemployment increased, and GDP collapsed, all of which was exacerbated by international sanctions. Today, many Venezuelans are emigrating to find work and supplies elsewhere, and population growth is at a decade-low. Current president Nicolás Maduro does not seem inclined to steer away from his course of price controls and economic mismanagement, so the standard of living in the country is not expected to improve significantly anytime soon.

Inflation in Zimbabwe rose to 10.61 percent in 2018, and is projected to jump dramatically to 577.21 percent in 2020. After that, estimates predict a slow decline for now - however, given Zimbabwe’s history of poor monetary policy, including one of the worst instances of hyperinflation, this seems unrealistic.

Inflation history

Inflation depends significantly on economic expectations of it, making it hard to reduce inflation once it has hit higher levels. This happened in Zimbabwe in the years approaching 2008, at the end of which a single U.S. dollar was worth over 2.6 trillion Zimbabwe dollars, up from 10,000 Zimbabwe dollars at the start of 2005. This all but destroyed Zimbabwe’s economy, leading to very low gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and a government struggling to finance itself.

The way ahead

In 2009, the Zimbabwean dollar had twelve zeros slashed from the banknotes. This was not enough, and after three decades of rule, former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe was removed from power at the end of 2017. Citizens of the country are trying to hold foreign banknotes; they prefer U.S. dollars or euros, but the South African rand is more common. However, the rand’s performance against other currencies has been lackluster in recent years. This underscores the struggle that the Zimbabwean people have to find a stable currency at the moment.

The CNE (National Electoral Council) of Venezuela declared Nicolás Maduro the winner of the 2024 elections with 51 percent of the votes. Since 2013, this is the third time the official results give Maduro the presidency.

Poverty in Venezuela During the last few years, Venezuela has suffered from all sorts of shortages, from water and food to fuel and energy. In 2013, around 31 percent of households lived impoverished, by 2021, the figure was above 90 percent and around 68 percent were under the extreme poverty line. Food insecurity still plays an important role, during a 2022 survey, around 78 percent of Venezuelans were worried about running out of food. Venezuela also has the lowest minimum wage in Latin America, with a monthly salary lower than four U.S. dollars.

Not a positive economic outlook Despite having all to become one of the largest oil exporters in the world, the oil industry of Venezuela recorded more and more problems, including mismanagement of resources, production crises, and the increasing number of international sanctions. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Venezuela peaked in 2013, with over 372 billion U.S. dollars, to then plummet to 43.79 billion in 2020. The forecasts do not show signs of an economic recovery in the following years. Another of the main issues the Venezuela society faces is inflation, as of 2023, the country ranked with the highest inflation rate in Latin America with over 337 percent.

In the 2020 U.S. presidential race, Democratic candidates spent a total of roughly 3.16 billion U.S. dollars, more than any other election. The total spending of presidential candidates is reflected in the number of major presidential candidates running. See here for more information on how many candidates have run in past U.S. elections.

The United States recorded a Government Debt to GDP of 122.30 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2023. This dataset provides - United States Government Debt To GDP - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Adding to national debt is an inevitable fact of being President of the United States. The extent to which debt rises under any sitting president depends not only on the policy and spending choices they have made, but also the choices made by presidents and congresses that have come before them.

Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush President Ronald Reagan increased the U.S. debt by around 1.86 trillion U.S. dollars, or 186.36 percent. This is often attributed to "Reaganomics," in which Reagan implemented significant supply-side economic policies in which he reduced government regulation, cut taxes, and tightened the money supply. Spending increased under President George W. Bush in light of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. To finance the wars, President Bush chose to borrow the money, rather than use war bonds or increase taxes, unlike previous war-time presidents. Additionally, Bush introduced a number of tax cuts, and oversaw the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. Barack Obama President Obama inherited both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the financial crisis. The Obama administration also did not increase taxes to pay for the wars, and additionally passed expensive legislation to kickstart the economy following the economic crash, as well as the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The ACA expanded healthcare coverage to cover more than 30 million more Americans through programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Though controversial at the time, more than half of Americans have a favorable view of the ACA in 2023. Additionally, he signed legislation making the W. Bush-era tax cuts permanent.

Money Supply M2 in the United States increased to 21447.60 USD Billion in November from 21311.20 USD Billion in October of 2024. This dataset provides - United States Money Supply M2 - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The Volcker Shock was a period of historically high interest rates precipitated by Federal Reserve Chairperson Paul Volcker's decision to raise the central bank's key interest rate, the Fed funds effective rate, during the first three years of his term. Volcker was appointed chairperson of the Fed in August 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, as replacement for William Miller, who Carter had made his treasury secretary. Volcker was one of the most hawkish (supportive of tighter monetary policy to stem inflation) members of the Federal Reserve's committee, and quickly set about changing the course of monetary policy in the U.S. in order to quell inflation. The Volcker Shock is remembered for bringing an end to over a decade of high inflation in the United States, prompting a deep recession and high unemployment, and for spurring on debt defaults among developing countries in Latin America who had borrowed in U.S. dollars.

Monetary tightening and the recessions of the early '80s

Beginning in October 1979, Volcker's Fed tightened monetary policy by raising interest rates. This decision had the effect of depressing demand and slowing down the U.S. economy, as credit became more expensive for households and businesses. The Fed funds rate, the key overnight rate at which banks lend their excess reserves to each other, rose as high as 17.6 percent in early 1980. The rate was allowed to fall back below 10 percent following this first peak, however, due to worries that inflation was not falling fast enough, a second cycle of monetary tightening was embarked upon starting in August of 1980. The rate would reach its all-time peak in June of 1981, at 19.1 percent. The second recession sparked by these hikes was far deeper than the 1980 recession, with unemployment peaking at 10.8 percent in December 1980, the highest level since The Great Depression. This recession would drive inflation to a low point during Volcker's terms of 2.5 percent in August 1983.

The legacy of the Volcker Shock

By the end of Volcker's terms as Fed Chair, inflation was at a manageable rate of around four percent, while unemployment had fallen under six percent, as the economy grew and business confidence returned. While supporters of Volcker's actions point to these numbers as proof of the efficacy of his actions, critics have claimed that there were less harmful ways that inflation could have been brought under control. The recessions of the early 1980s are cited as accelerating deindustrialization in the U.S., as manufacturing jobs lost in 'rust belt' states such as Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania never returned during the years of recovery. The Volcker Shock was also a driving factor behind the Latin American debt crises of the 1980s, as governments in the region defaulted on debts which they had incurred in U.S. dollars. Debates about the validity of using interest rate hikes to get inflation under control have recently re-emerged due to the inflationary pressures facing the U.S. following the Coronavirus pandemic and the Federal Reserve's subsequent decision to embark on a course of monetary tightening.

During the second-round elections in November 2023, Javier Milei with the coalition “La Libertad Avanza” or “LLA”, won with more than 55 percent of the votes against Sergio Massa. As of December 2024, more than half of the population in Argentina had a negative image of Javier Milei. Still with high inflation rates One of the main campaign pledges of Milei was to eradicate inflation in Argentina, one of the main problems the Argentine society faces, and to dollarize the economy. Nonetheless, one year later and the situation is not improving. In fact, during October 2024, the inflation rate when compared to the same month of the previous year was still over 180 percent, after reaching one of its highest levels in March of the same year with 287 percent.
Poverty reaching one of its highest levels Milei’s economic plan included the elimination of subsidies and price controls, such as electricity, transportation, and gas contributions. Which affected directly the most vulnerable part of society. In fact, during the first half of 2024, the level of poverty among households increased 33 percent when compared to the second half of 2023. Another area that heavily affected the number of Argentinians in condition of vulnerability is food inflation, which continues to soar, with all food categories presenting price increases.

This survey focuses on America's senior executives ratings of the economy and their own companies performance, Alan Greenspan, President Clinton and Congress on the economy, and the balanced budget amendment. Variables include rating the economy, economic growth, inflation, 30 year Treasury rate, own company sales, employment, exports, Alan Greenspan, President Clinton handling of the economy, Congress, balanced budget amendment.

The CNE (National Electoral Council) of Venezuela declared Nicolás Maduro the winner of the 2024 elections with 51 percent of the votes. Since 2013, this is the third time the official results give Maduro the presidency. Nonetheless, Venezuela's government failed to provide enough evidence to back up the results. After the official announcement from CNE, the opposition published the platform "Resultados con Venezuela" for citizens to upload released tallies from different polling stations, these results give the victory to Edmundo González with around 67 percent of votes.

Poverty in Venezuela During the last few years, Venezuela has suffered from all sorts of shortages, from water and food to fuel and energy. In 2013, around 31 percent of households lived impoverished, by 2021, the figure was above 90 percent and around 68 percent were under the extreme poverty line. Food insecurity still plays an important role, during a 2022 survey, around 78 percent of Venezuelans were worried about running out of food. Venezuela also has the lowest minimum wage in Latin America, with a monthly salary lower than four U.S. dollars.

Not a positive economic outlook Despite having all to become one of the largest oil exporters in the world, the oil industry of Venezuela recorded more and more problems, including mismanagement of resources, production crises, and the increasing number of international sanctions. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Venezuela peaked in 2013, with over 372 billion U.S. dollars, to then plummet to 43.79 billion in 2020. The forecasts do not show signs of an economic recovery in the following years. Another of the main issues the Venezuela society faces is inflation, as of 2023, the country ranked with the highest inflation rate in Latin America with over 337 percent.

Iran’s gross domestic product (GDP) inclined by 3.33 percent in 2020 after adjusting for inflation. This figure fell from 13.4 percent growth four years ago, which had been a reaction to sanctions lifting after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JPCOA) regarding Iran’s nuclear program. United States president Donald Trump ended that country’s participation in the deal, imposing new sanctions.

Political influence on the economy

Political tensions have hampered the economy of Iran, keeping growth low in spite of the country’s considerable oil reserves. The effect of these sanctions becomes obvious when looking at Iran’s oil exports to Europe over the past decade. Some analysts have blamed the new sanctions for the increase in Iran’s inflation rate, as well as the currency depreciation that has accompanied it.

Iran’s options

Although Iran’s main export partners are largely in Asia, many of the transactions are carried out using U.S. dollars. Even though other means of payment are possible, some countries worry about political ramifications of continuing trade relations with Iran. Iran’s greatest strength at the moment may be its low national debt, meaning that it can borrow a substantial amount of money if it can find a willing lender. However, given the instability of the political situation worldwide and regionally, it is difficult to assume that such a borrower exists at the moment.

South Africa’s inflation has been quite stable for the past years, levelling off between 3.2 and 6.9 percent, and is in fact expected to stabilize at around 4.5 percent in the future. South Africa is a mixed economy, generating most of its GDP through the services sector, especially tourism. However, the country struggles with unemployment and poverty.

Inflation who?

The inflation rate of a country is an important key factor to determine the country’s economic strength. It is calculated using the price increase of a defined product basket, containing goods and services on which the average consumer spends money throughout the year. They include, for example, expenses for groceries, clothes, rent, utilities, but also recreational activities, and raw materials (e.g. gas, oil), as well as federal fees and taxes. Some of these goods are more volatile than others – food prices, for example, are considered less reliable. The European Central Bank aims to keep inflation at around two percent in the long run.

What happened in 2016?

In 2016, South Africa’s inflation rate peaked at over 6.3 percent, and gross domestic product, and thus economic growth , took a hit, a sure indicator that something was affecting the country’s economic scaffolding: Low growth due to weak demand and an uncertain political future caused a crisis; then-President Jacob Zuma’s alleged mismanagement and unstable reign steeped in controversy and criminal charges even caused the economy’s outlook to be downgraded by ratings agencies. Zuma was relieved of his office in 2018 – ever since, inflation, GDP, and economic growth seem to have stabilized.