The Short Version
The claim that inflation in Western economies is primarily caused by excessive government spending is not supported by the evidence. The IMF, World Bank, and St. Louis Fed identify energy shocks, supply chain disruptions, monetary policy, and broad demand dynamics as the dominant inflation drivers. While U.S. fiscal stimulus contributed meaningfully to the 2022 inflation spike, this narrow finding cannot be generalized to all Western economies or all time periods. Government spending is a contributing factor in specific episodes, not the primary cause overall.