The author is the Principal of Queen’s College Cambridge and an advisor to Allianz and Grammys

Over the past two weeks, a clearer picture has emerged of how and why the world’s most powerful central bank has scrambled to regain control of inflation and contain further damage to its policy credibility.

The key message from the latest meeting of central bank policymakers is that inflation is higher and more persistent than expected – and the risks they forecast are skewed towards faster and faster price increases.

This is a major shift Fed and European Central Bank Unlike the Bank of England, it has considered inflation “transient” for too long.

Some market commentators describe this as “Hawk Pivot”. If it’s a pivot, it’s partial at best, still too slow, and runs the risk of overcompensating later in the year. For now, the two banks’ extremely accommodative policies are inconsistent with their changing rhetoric on inflation and local developments.

Rather than promoting a smooth transition for monetary policy and the economy, this continued slow approach will force both sides to tighten policy this year, or more will have to be done. That will heighten concerns about how the global economy and markets will respond to rising borrowing costs and prices.

Concerns that inflation expectations have become more entrenched are already growing. There is a risk that price and wage settings will shift from seeking to compensate for the impact of past cost increases to also starting to include future expected inflation factors.

These considerations lead the Bank of England to 25 basis points hike, which is the first time it has opted for back-to-back rate hikes since 2004. The fact that four of the five members of the central bank’s policy-making committee favor an immediate 50 basis point rate hike suggests that a third consecutive hike at the next meeting is almost a done deal.

I think the Bank of England’s desirable and timely policy actions stand in stark contrast to the ECB and Fed’s inaction – a difference that adds to the BoE’s policy challenge.

At last month’s policy meeting, the Fed should at least signal that it is more serious about tackling inflation by immediately halting large-scale asset purchases.

Even before Friday’s blowout December jobs report, the failure to do so resulted in a notable shift in market expectations, with five rate hikes this year alone, with one prominent bank (Bank of America) prediction seven. In my opinion, this would constitute an excessive tightening of monetary policy, as the Fed is also expected to shrink its bloated balance sheet.

For its part, the ECB was supposed to provide stronger guidance on rate hikes this year at its policy meeting last week. The market is already pricing in that growth.The European Central Bank also reiterate It stuck to a “gradual” approach of raising rates only after it stopped net bond purchases, a move that further reduced its latitude.

All of this raises the possibility of a second policy mistake by the central bank in as many years. In particular, the longer the Fed delays, the greater the risk of summer monetary policy tightening that would unduly stifle a much-needed strong, inclusive and sustainable economic recovery.

The bigger risk is that such tightening will come after inflation expectations are unanchored, leading to a double whammy – higher prices and lower incomes. This has hit the most vulnerable segments of the population particularly hard. If apparent market volatility spills back into the wider economy, the damage will be amplified.

The consequences of these policy mistakes extend far beyond Europe and the United States. They are especially threatening to developing countries that lack policy flexibility and financial resilience.

The Fed and the European Central Bank have taken too long to correct their misreading of rising prices. Adding to the extra difficulty now is the needless delay in changing the still-puzzling stance of super-stimulatory monetary policy. The world’s two biggest central banks may be forced to overly “catch up” with policy tightening rather than ensuring a soft landing for the economy.

Now stubbornly slow and partial, the policy shift sure to take place in the coming months could do considerable damage to livelihoods.