Clear and Present Danger

The combined effect of economic stagnation and rising inflation could lead to stagflation of the kind the world has not seen since the 1970s

- UDAYAN MUKHERJEE

I BEGAN the year cautioning readers of this column that 2022 could be a year resembling a board of snakes and ladders and urging them not to disregard the rising risks that stood to derail a fragile post-Covid-19 recovery. Now, with every passing week, the snakes only seem more menacing, the ladders wobbly. The twin vipers of economic stagnation and rising inflation are baring their venomous fangs, raising the specter of a much-feared stagflation that the world has not had to countenance since the 1970s. We are not there yet, but the risks are very real.