While advanced economies dominate the newsprint, I want to speak today about how the global inflation problem impacts emerging economies, and South Africa specifically. A broad spectrum of emerging economies are experiencing inflation rates that are persistent and well above target. And yet, five years ago, many emerging and developing countries seemed on a steady path towards lower, and more stable inflation.
Are emerging economies able to get back onto that path, given the challenges presented by the current global environment? The short answer to this must be ‘yes’, but we need to recognise that doing so will not be easy. Certainly, the headwinds to constructive policymaking have increased and global conditions are far from benign.