OPINION - Inflation and recession, we’re taking a trip back to the chaotic Seventies

Imagine, for just a moment, you’re an economic policymaker tasked with managing the path of an economy. Now envisage a set of economic conditions that makes your task near-enough impossible. That, unfortunately, is where many real-life policymakers find themselves today. There’s too little growth but there’s also too much inflation. The former typically demands interest rate cuts. Doing so, however, simply threatens more by way of inflation. The latter typically requires interest rate increases. Going down that path, however, may trigger a recession.