What is stagflation, and should we be worrying about it?

The steepest inflation in decades and severe product shortages have evoked comparisons to the economic doldrums faced by the U.S. in the 1970s. The echoes are reviving concerns about "stagflation," a term coined during that earlier period that has become synonymous with double-digit price increases, job losses and images of motorists queueing for gasoline.

"The danger of stagflation is considerable today," the World Bank warned this week. "Several years of above-average inflation and below-average growth are now likely." Here's what to know about stagflation and the potential risk it poses to the American economy.