Global rate rises are happening on an unprecedented scale

began in the spring of 2021, when a handful of central banks in Latin America and central Europe began putting up interest rates to calm their wobbling currencies and rein in inflation. By the end of the year, a few rich countries, like Norway and South Korea, had joined in the action. Over the course of this year, nearly every major economy has jammed on the brakes. In the past five decades, policy has never tilted so overwhelmingly towards rate rises (see chart).As the pace of tightening has increased, growing numbers of economists have warned that this rapid and synchronous, but largely unco-ordinated, policymaking has the makings of trouble. Maurice Obstfeld, a former chief economist at the , recently argued that central banks’ failure to consider the global effects of their policies puts the world economy at risk of a “historic” slowdown. While any given rate rise may be justifiable, together they could have a greater effect than anticipated.