There's no escaping the ravages of inflation. Sooner or later everybody gets hurt, even rich families. Nonetheless Notre Dame social scientists confirm that families most vulnerable to inflation are the ones you might suspect: those headed by women, retirees or disabled people.
In a comprehensive study of the last extended period of high inflation in the U.S. economy -- 1973 through 1981 -- Notre Dame sociologists Joan Aldous and Rod Ganey and Notre Dame economist Lawrence Marsh with Scott Trees, a colleague from Siena College, found that all but 1 percent of U.S. families suffered financially for at least one year during the period. Half of all families lost ground during at least five of the nine years.
The inflationary period was especially harmful to those least often in the labor force and those on a fixed or low income -- namely older women and single mothers and their families.
"Since the last group in particular also suffers economically in times of relative prosperity, flare-ups in inflation make their position and that of their children even more precarious," the report observed.
Households headed by white males, regardless of age, fared best during the inflationary years. Households headed by black males under age 65 improved their economic position slightly during the period, although race, per se, was not found to be related to a family's ability to hold its own during periods of inflation.
Inflation does discriminate by color of collar: families of foremen, craftsmen and other blue collar workers were less likely to keep up with the cost of living than families of professional and technical workers.
The study appears in The Work and Family Interface: Toward a Contextual Effects Perspective, recently published by the National Council on Family Relations.