However, the concept of a stable relationship between output gap and inflation is not only frequently challenged in theory but also hard to apply in practice. The operational appropriateness of the output gap as a guide to policy is limited by the availability of reliable real-time estimates.
That might be surprising to some people, given the overwhelmingly male-dominated mathematical professions today. A more recent example of what was once traditionally a ‘male’ occupation now employing many more women is the role of traffic management on roadwork crews. At a broader level, though, industry-level and occupation-level sex-segregation is remarkably stable from decade to decade.