In addition to distorted measures of output, Higgs provides further evidence against American prosperity during the conflict, in the form of wartime inflation. Upon further examination of price indexes, it becomes clear that inflation during the war is understated by traditional metrics. Because the prices of munitions rose much less than those of civilian goods, effective inflation hit the average citizen harder than standard economic models would suggest. Furthermore, there existed a number of unusual welfare-diminishing circumstances throughout the war, which are important to consider because they would not show up in traditional economic measures of consumer well-being. First off, in order to acquire the more limited quantity of available
