Since the 1970s, there has only been one playbook for fighting inflation: raise interest rates, thereby creating unemployment and a recession, which will lower prices. This simple story hides a multitude of assumptions about why prices go up and how policymakers can wrestle them back down—assumptions that are often wrong, damaging, and have little empirical basis. Prominent economists Mark Blyth and Nicolò Fraccaroli reveal why inflation happens, how we combat it and how it affects our lives. With accessible and engaging commentary and a good dose of humour, Blyth and Fraccaroli bring the complexities of economic policy and inflation indices down to earth. They argue that 2021 marked the end of an era of relative price stability around the world. Now, climate shocks, changing demographics and geopolitical tensions are combining to create a more inflationary future—making a new paradigm for understanding inflation all the more necessary. Astute, timely and thoroughly engaging, Inflation is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the forces shaping our economy.

"An essential dose of clear thinking on one of the most contentious issues in economic policy. In an age of increasing uncertainty, if we are to avoid a retreat to knee-jerk austerity, we need a new inflation playbook. This is an excellent start." -- Adam Tooze, author of the Chartbook Substack and professor of history at Columbia University
"Inflation is a serious contender for the most misunderstood and weaponized issue in economics and politics. The authors do a great service to their readers by explaining what is at stake in the heated debates of recent years." -- Isabella Weber, award-winning economist and author of How China Escaped Shock Therapy
"This wonderful book demystifies competing narratives about inflation to prepare you for a world in which the winners and losers may have to deal with the price hikes caused by climate change and geopolitics." -- Dani Rodrik, author of The Globalization Paradox
"Mark Blyth and Nicolò Fraccaroli convincingly argue that we are entering the age of supply-side driven inflation. As economic fragmentation increases, supply chains break, and economic coercion replaces competition. Inflation will prepare you for the new normal." -- Branko Milanovic, author of Capitalism, Alone
"Understanding the recent rise and fall of inflation is essential. Inflation clearly analyzes pandemic-era inflation while making the compelling argument that the go-to tools of higher interest rates by central banks must be reconsidered." -- Claudia Sahm, chief economist at New Century Advisors and creator of the Sahm Rule
"[A] brilliant primer about a phenomenon that we thought was behind us but has come back with a vengeance." -- Edward Luce - Financial Times, ‘Best summer books of 2025’

Mark Blyth is a political economist and professor at Brown University. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island. Nicolò Fraccaroli is an economist at the World Bank and a visiting scholar at Brown University. He lives in Washington, DC.