High inflation has taken many Western nations by surprise, The Economist reports.

The publication stresses that the refusal of inflation to go away strikes Western countries more and more.

The publication notes that such a situation occurred due to erroneous forecasts of the International Monetary Fund and the United States Federal Reserve System in December 2020.

The publication cites strong wage growth as another reason.

The decline in real wages could work as a brake on spending and inflation, the publication says.

A third factor in the current situation is inflation expectations. People's perceptions of the future influence consumption and wage demands. Assuming that recent experiences play a major role in shaping such beliefs, this helps explain sustained inflation.