Shocks persist. They are rarely the one-off simple impulse beloved by academic economists. Indeed, they often combine in strange and unpredictable ways. So, while international focus has fallen rightly on the myriad issues raised by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we must also remember that we continue to live in the shadow of Covid.

The World Health Organization has published an estimate that suggests show that the death toll associated directly or indirectly with the Covid-19 pandemic