The US economy is heading for a recession. This headline has been one of the headlines of the summer, both in the international and national press, supported by numerous articles and analyses from major banks. However, not everyone is of the same opinion. This is the case of the Nobel Prize winner in economics, Richard Thaler, who admits that the country has recorded two consecutive quarters of economic contraction, but describes the idea of a recession in the US as "ridiculous".

"The economy is growing, it's just growing slightly less fast than prices," Thaler said in an interview with CNBC. He added that the country has a low unemployment rate and a record low level of unfilled jobs, all elements of "a strong economy". He therefore finds it "curious" that the fact that US real GDP fell a little is called a recession.

As for inflation, which reached 8.5% year-on-year in June, Thaler believes that analysts have been too hasty in saying that it is not a transitory phenomenon. According to him, the high prices are caused "directly by the war in Ukraine or by problems in the supply chain in China", factors that he expects to be "temporary". Moreover, if in a year's time these problems have abated, "we could see deflation", the Nobel laureate notes.

On the other hand, Thaler believes that raising wages for the lowest paid workers could be "beneficial", given the rising prices they face and the income gap in the US, which has been growing steadily in recent decades.

Richard Thaler is known for his work in behavioural economics. In 2015, he participated in the film "The Big Short" about the US subprime mortgage crisis. Two years later, he received the Nobel Prize in Economics.