Stagflation: what is it and is it really happening in Australia?

As prices rise and incomes fail to keep up, many people are likely to have to look at what they spend their money on and make some cutbacks. Here’s what you need to know about the meaning of stagflation. Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

The war in Ukraine, soaring petrol prices, $11 lettuces and stagnant wages have combined to inflict economic pain on ordinary Australians.

Amid the clatter of crashing markets, economists are haunted by the spectre of stagflation, an economic phenomenon not seen on a global scale since the 1970s.