How can we combat a negative supply shock?
A negative supply shock (e.g. a rise in the price of oil, natural gas or other raw materials, a faster rise in wages due to a tight labour market) can be countered: Either through a restrictive monetary policy; Or through a restrictive fiscal policy; Or through a policy of stimulating the supply of goods and services. The problem with restrictive monetary policy is that it is not very effective (central bank interest rates have to be raised a lot to reduce demand for goods and services and inflation) and that it systematically triggers a real estate crisis. The problem with restrictive fiscal policy is that public spending is not flexible, especially when it comes to increasing spending on education, research, healthcare, the energy transition, etc . We therefore need to think about reacting to a negative supply shock with an economic policy that favours the supply of goods and services: corporate tax cuts, investment incentives, increased spending on research and education, etc.