Is the world facing a new burst of inflation?

Charles Goodhart, emeritus professor of banking and finance at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Manoj Pradhan, founder of Talking Heads Macro, a research firm, discuss their book The Great Demographic Reversal: Ageing Societies, Waning Inequality, and an Inflation Revival. The discussion, led by David Marsh, OMFIF chairman, centres on the effects of demography on price levels as relatively wealthy retirees stoke up global demand for goods produced by a shrinking labour force, leading to product scarcity and bottlenecks. Goodhart’s and Pradhan’s thesis, which they maintain could lead to sharp falls in bond prices from 2022 onwards as portfolios adjust to higher inflation prospects, has become a major talking point among international policy-makers.