# Did inflation cause the cost of living crisis?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ifs-zooms-in-the-economy-638796/did-inflation-cause-the-cost-of-living-crisis
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ifs-zooms-in-the-economy-638796/did-inflation-cause-the-cost-of-living-crisis.md
Podcast: [IFS Zooms In: The Economy](https://stenobird.com/podcast/ifs-zooms-in-the-economy-638796)
Published: 2026-02-06T11:42:41+00:00
Episode link: https://ifs.org.uk/podcasts-explainers-and-calculators
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/5ea004d9fbcc383829c71657/e/6985cad5e4c954d6d9f88b81/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/ifs-zooms-in-the-economy-638796/episodes/did-inflation-cause-the-cost-of-living-crisis
Duration seconds: 3131

## Resource

Inflation has fallen a long way from its peak - but many people still feel worse off, and price rises have remained stubbornly above the Bank of England’s 2% target. So what actually caused the big inflation spike, how close are we to “normal”, and what does that mean for households?   Helen is joined by David Miles (OBR and former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee) and Peter Levell (IFS) to break down the basics: what inflation is, why central banks target 2% rather than 0%, and what drove prices up so sharply in recent years.   We also dig into who inflation hits hardest, how much of the cost-of-living crisis is really about inflation, and why the Bank raises interest rates even though it can make life feel tougher in the short run.  Become a member: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membership Find out more: https://ifs.org.uk/podcasts-explainers-and-calculators/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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