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Department of Economics Alumni Newsletter - 2024 Edition!

How much are Americans spendind on groceries?

When looking to move to a new area, it’s important to consider how much cost-of-living expenses will affect your budget. Grocery prices in particular have taken a big bite out of consumers’ incomes in recent years.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, American households spent an average of $1,174 per month on groceries in Oct. 2023, up from $1,108 in Nov. 2022. That marks an average increase of nearly 6% in nearly a year, but grocery bills in 24 states grew even more rapidly during that period.

With grocery prices spiking over such a short period, were wages able to keep up across the U.S.? To find out, ConsumerAffairs compiled 2023 data from the U.S. Census Bureau on household spending and income to determine how much of consumers’ wages were spent on groceries and where in the U.S. spending increased or decreased the most.

The latest consumer inflation report indicates that grocery prices have stabilized, yet the perception of high food costs lingers for many. David Andolfatto, professor and chair of the University of Miami Patti and Allan Herbert Business School Economics Department, and David Kelly, economics professor and co-chair of the Sustainable Business Research Cluster, both recognize that supply and demand bottlenecks from the pandemic, high oil prices, wars, extreme weather, and crop disease all impact the massive movement of food goods around the world. Kelly identified domestic factors affecting food prices—higher energy costs that impact transportation, fertilizer, and harvesting; extreme weather; regulations on trucking such as measures banning cages for chickens—yet emphasized that general inflation is far and away the major culprit.

What’s up with high food prices? | Miami Herbert Business School | University of Miami

Hundreds of PortMiami workers could strike if contract talks fail

MIAMI – Hundreds of workers at PortMiami could go on strike by the end of Monday if contract negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association and management are not completed.

The potential strike threatens to halt operations at one of the busiest ports in the United States.

“This could have a potentially huge impact,” said David Andolfatto, chair of the Department of Economics at the University of Miami. “For Americans that recall the supply chain disruptions during the COVID pandemic, we are talking about an impact of that level, especially if it’s prolonged.”

¿Cómo impacta a tu bolsillo el recorte de la tasa de interés anunciado por la Reserva Federal?

Connect with the Experts

mxl1740@miami.edu

Tel: 305-284-5111

Marlen Lebish

Roles

Executive Director, University Communications

David Andolfatto

Specialization:

Macroeconomics, monetary and fiscal policy, financial markets

Michael B. Connolly

Specialization:
International finance, trade and development | Currency boards and exchange speculation

Javier Donna

Specialization:
Antitrust and competition policy

Ayca Kaya

Specialization:

Transparency and privacy issues in markets; price formation in everyday goods/service markets, including housing markets; determinants of team success within firms