The cost of living crisis as a global phenomenon

The current cost of living crisis is a global phenomenon in the sense that it has hit every country because it has been propelled by global factors. Even though the crisis can be characterised as being global, it is not an “equal opportunity agent”, in the sense that it has been more severe in some countries than others. The degree of severity is determined by domestic factors such as the productive capacity of the economy and the extent of deindustrialisation, as well as the availability of a social safety net, a welfare state and universal healthcare. A unique factor that has made the crisis more severe in the UK than in other European countries is Brexit, which is believed to have contributed to the escalation of inflation and restricted the availability of goods imported from the European Union.