Despite pessimism about the economy due to the aftereffects of pandemic-era inflation, the economy that the next administration inherits is a relatively strong one, as prices have mostly stabilized, said Kimberly Clausing, the Eric M. Zolt chair in Tax Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law.

Clausing, who was formerly the lead economist in the United States Office of Tax Policy, added that an expectation of a return to normal prices is “unrealistic,” and voters should instead expect wages to rise to compensate.

“We’ve managed to bring our inflation down very rapidly without creating a recession, which is something that historically has been very, very difficult for macro policymakers to manage,” she said.