For the current year, the IMF is forecasting a rise of 3.6% in consumer prices in advanced economies and an increase of as much as 9.4% in the emerging markets. Fortunately, the crest of the current wave of inflation seems now to have broken due to falling oil and commodity prices, reflecting weaker global growth.
For Greece, entering the euro zone has meant not only the loss of an independent monetary policy the fruits of which were amply demonstrated in the 1980s and the early 1990s - but also the credibility gains associated with a stable, low-inflation monetary regime.