Opinion Paul Krugman Will The U.S. Economy Pull Off a ‘Soft Landing’? By Paul Krugman Graphics by Quoctrung Bui and Sara Chodosh Paul Krugman is an Opinion columnist who covers economics, social policy and politics. In 2008, he received the Nobel Prize in Economics. Line chart showing how unemployment and inflation have varied, from 1970 to today, plus a projection into the future showing what an economic soft landing would look like. At first, Covid-19 dealt a hammer blow to the U.S. economy.