Michael Mandel, PPI’s chief economist, was quoted in David Harrison’s article for Roll Call on unreliable manufacturing data. The article explored the credibility of recent Commerce Department statistics showing that the manufacturing sector has returned to its pre-crash value. Mandel explained how the government provided data painted a complex evolving industry with a broad brush, making it difficult to assess the actual state of affairs:
You think your manufacturing is growing, but it may be shrinking, and you don’t know the right places to apply policy levers,” said Michael Mandel, an economist at the Progressive Policy Institute who has spent years studying these issues. “At this point, in manufacturing we’re flying blind.
Read the full article on Roll Call’s website, here.
