Goldilocks Economy: How Taylor Swift, ‘Barbie’ helped prevent a recession

The blowout success of Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour, combined with the record box office juice of the "Barbie" movie, is helping to buoy the economy and prevent a recession. Why it matters: Beyoncé should have been an economist — her 2011 observation that it's girls who run the world is now showing up in microeconomic aggregates. What's happening: Consumers are prioritizing experiences and entertainment over buying things, as fresh economic data for July shows. Between the lines: The post-pandemic economy laid the ground for Swift-onomics — the economic turbocharge Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour brings to each city she's performed in. Zoom in: Local consumer spending tied to the tour could go as high as $4.6 billion, per one estimate. By the numbers: Of the 69 markets where Moody's tracks hotel performance, the ones that included a stop on the "Eras" tour all posted an increase in revenue per available room from the same month last year. Meanwhile: "Barbie" is the biggest movie of the year s

The blowout success of Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour, combined with the record box office juice of the "Barbie" movie, is helping to buoy the economy and prevent a recession. Why it matters: Beyoncé should have been an economist — her 2011 observation that it's girls who run the world is now showing up in microeconomic aggregates. What's happening: Consumers are prioritizing experiences and entertainment over buying things, as fresh economic data for July shows. Between the lines: The post-pandemic economy laid the ground for Swift-onomics — the economic turbocharge Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour bri