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economy

Sometimes an economy delivers the worst of both worlds at once: prices keep climbing even as growth and jobs stall out, defying the usual textbook trade-off.

What is this rare combination of high inflation and economic stagnation called?

Stagflation
Stagflation describes an economy stuck with high inflation, slow growth, and rising unemployment simultaneously, a combination that standard economic models say shouldn't happen together since inflation is usually tied to overheating demand. The term was popularized during the 1970s oil-shock era, when soaring energy prices choked growth while prices kept rising anyway.

Stagflation describes the rare combination of high inflation together with slow growth and rising unemployment at once, defying the usual pattern where inflation accompanies a hot, fast-growing economy rather than a stagnant one.

Deflation is essentially the opposite, falling prices rather than rising, and a recession refers to contraction generally, which can happen with or without high inflation, neither term captures stagflation's specific dual bind.

The term became widely known during the 1970s oil-shock era, when spiking energy prices choked growth while prices kept climbing anyway, leaving policymakers a painful dilemma since fighting inflation risked worsening stagnation.

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