Praise for EconAmerica "If you live in the real world, this book is a must-read. It is packed withusable insights into the future, the global economy, and what you and yourcompany need to know to be competitive now and in the future. Jeff Thredgold makes the dismal science a fun adventure to prepare you for not only what is coming, but how to take advantage of the great opportunities ahead." --Terry L. Brocksyndicated columnist, marketing coach, www.TerryBrock.com "In this insightful and practical book, Jeff Thredgold proves that 'interesting economist' isn't an oxymoron. Jeff takes the mystery out of economics and makes it easy to understand. If you want to know what's really going on in the American economy and the impact it has on your quality of living, read this book." --Mark Sanbornspeaker and bestselling author of The Fred Factor andYou Don't Need a Title to Be a Leader "With all the economic gloom and doom thrust upon us by the mediaand politicians, through econAmerica, Jeff Thredgold is a fresh breath ofeconomic hope--something that we all so desperately need today." --Ed RigsbeePresident of Rigsbee Research and author of PartnerShift "This account of history, economic data, and humanbehavior makes a compelling statement about how the Americaneconomy will prevail as globalization evolves." --Hazel J. PankeyDirector, Conference Programs, Industrial Asset Management Council "You continue to amaze us with your outstanding ability to present economic information in terms that everyone can understand, while also making it extremely interesting." --JOE BELEW President, Consumer Bankers Association

The global economy is climbing out from the depths to which it had plummeted during the Great Lockdown in April. But with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to spread, many countries have slowed reopening and some are reinstating partial lockdowns to protect susceptible populations. While recovery in China has been faster than expected, the global economy’s long ascent back to pre-pandemic levels of activity remains prone to setbacks.

Inflation is regarded by the many as a menace that damages business and can only make life worse for households. Keeping it low depends critically on ensuring that firms and workers expect it to be low. So expectations of inflation are a key influence on national economic welfare. This collection pulls together a galaxy of world experts (including Roy Batchelor, Richard Curtin and Staffan Linden) on inflation expectations to debate different aspects of the issues involved. The main focus of the volume is on likely inflation developments. A number of factors have led practitioners and academic observers of monetary policy to place increasing emphasis recently on inflation expectations. One is the spread of inflation targeting, invented in New Zealand over 15 years ago, but now encompassing many important economies including Brazil, Canada, Israel and Great Britain. Even more significantly, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and the United States Federal Bank are the leading members of another group of monetary institutions all considering or implementing moves in the same direction. A second is the large reduction in actual inflation that has been observed in most countries over the past decade or so. These considerations underscore the critical – and largely underrecognized - importance of inflation expectations. They emphasize the importance of the issues, and the great need for a volume that offers a clear, systematic treatment of them. This book, under the steely editorship of Peter Sinclair, should prove very important for policy makers and monetary economists alike.