Will inflation ruin back-to-school shopping?

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Back-to-school shopping always excited me when I was a kid. It meant crisp notebooks, new clothes and, when my parents were feeling especially generous, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lunch box – as well as the prospect of seeing friends again. But with inflation running at about the highest pace in 40 years, today’s parents may be dreading the looming hit to the pocketbook.

Jay Zagorsky, an economist at Boston University, has some good news for them. He crunched the latest inflation data and found that many of the things that children need at the start of a new school year aren’t experiencing the price spikes happening to other goods.

Also today:

Bryan Keogh

Deputy Managing Editor

While laptops have dropped in price, old-school supplies like pencils and markers are getting more expensive. AP Photo/Marta Lavandier

Worried about back-to-school inflation? Latest price data on backpacks, laptops and kids’ clothes offers some relief for parents

Jay L. Zagorsky, Boston University

Inflation is soaring, but prices for typical back-to-school gear like backpacks, computers and new clothes are rising less than average – or even falling.

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