Economic circumstances have been good in the 1990s, when countries have gone over to inflation targeting, and it is worth repeating that inflation targeting is no panacea. It may not work well in the presence of negative supply shocks like those experienced throughout the world in the 1970s. Moreover, there is a potential problem with inflation targeting even in good economic times.
If forecasting inflation is difficult, even forward-looking inflation targeting central banks may respond to inflationary shocks too late to ward off inflation. Although there are several ways to forecast inflation, none may be that reliable. On one side, many analysts use econometric models, but these may have intrinsic problems in periods of significant structural shifts.