What Happens When Price Inflation Remains?

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In the days of King Henry VIII in the 1500s, it often felt as though England was falling apart. The root cause of this chaos is kind of easy to explain, really. It was a totally unexpected and also totally unfamiliar surge in inflation. So what caused this first spike in inflation? pundits at the time disagreed very strongly over the causes. And ever since then, really both economists and historians have taken one side or the other.

In 2022 global inflation spiked at a rate not seen in decades. A look at the world’s very first such bout reveals eerie echoes of today’s woes—and lessons for tackling them. Our correspondent meets Indonesia’s Baduy people, for whom modernity is encroaching on strict religious and ascetic ways. And our data team finds that favourite dog breeds vary by country. Additional music courtesy of Wim van Zanten. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer