Stagflation, The combination between recession and inflation, which keeps central bankers awake, comes up at the very beginning of the conversation with Peter Pratt. “The Eurozone is in an environment of acute stagflationary pressures,” says Pratt, who served until 2019 as the chief economist of the European Central Bank (ECB), and a member of its executive board. “And that means rising prices and a sharp slowdown of the economy. And the result is the worst of all worlds for policymakers and central bankers.”