Introduction

Inflationary processes seemed to be a thing of the past until the early 2020s. Up to that point, throughout countries of the Global South central banks and economic policymakers in general were faced with the challenge of averting deflationary dangers. The increase in energy and food prices which started in the early 2000s and has been significantly accelerated by the war in Ukraine, has reintroduced the problem of inflation and highlighted the need for policies that will curb inflationary developments. This introductory chapter outlines the structure of this book, on the basis of which the causes of primarily inflationary, but also deflationary, processes can be identified, and economic policy conclusions drawn.