LTI Colloquia: “Global Inflation: Looking Backward and Forward”

Marijn Bolhuis (IMF)

The world has experienced a dramatic rise in inflation since 2020. This talk discusses the recent increase in global inflation and its consequences for the global investment outlook. The talk discusses four questions: (i) what factors have driven the current increase in global inflation?  (ii) how does the increase in global inflation compare to previous inflation cycles? (iii) why did (almost) no one predict the increase in global inflation? (iv) how does inflation impact the global investment landscape? Special attention will be given to the inflation outlook in the United States, Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Marijn A. Bolhuis is an economist at the International Monetary Fund, where he has worked in the African and European departments. His research interests are on inflation, monetary policy, and macro forecasting. He has a PhD in economics from the University of Toronto. During his graduate studies, he was a researcher at the University of Oxford’s Center for the Study of African Economies. His recent work on inflation in the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa has been covered by media outlets in 12 countries, including The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Bloomberg, and Barron’s.