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Pro-rich inflation in Europe: Implications for the measurement of inequality

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  • Gürer Eren
  • Weichenrieder Alfons

    (Goethe University Frankfurt, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, 60323Frankfurt (Main), Germany)

Abstract

This paper studies the distributional consequences of a systematic variation in expenditure shares and prices. Using European Union Household Budget Surveys and Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices data, we construct household-specific price indices and reveal the existence of a pro-rich inflation in Europe. Over the period 2001–15, the consumption bundles of the poorest deciles in 25 European countries have, on average, become 11.2 percentage points more expensive than those of the richest deciles. We find that ignoring the differential inflation across the distribution underestimates the change in the Gini (based on consumption expenditure) by almost up to 0.04 points. Cross-country heterogeneity in this change is large enough to alter the inequality ranking of numerous countries. The average inflation effect we detect is almost as large as the change in the standard Gini measure over the period of interest.

Suggested Citation

  • Gürer Eren & Weichenrieder Alfons, 2020. "Pro-rich inflation in Europe: Implications for the measurement of inequality," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 21(1), pages 107-138, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:germec:v:21:y:2020:i:1:p:107-138
    DOI: 10.1515/ger-2018-0146
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    2. Pirmin Fessler & Friedrich Fritzer & Mirjam Salish, 2023. "Who pays the price when prices rise?," Monetary Policy & the Economy, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue Q4/22-Q1/, pages 67-84.
    3. Stempel, Daniel & Neyer, Ulrike, 2022. "Should Central Banks Consider Household Inflation Heterogeneity?," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264053, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. Konstantin A. Kholodilin & Sebastian Kohl, 2021. "Rent Price Control – Yet Another Great Equalizer of Economic Inequalities?: Evidence from a Century of Historical Data," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1927, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    5. Hayo, Bernd & Méon, Pierre-Guillaume, 2023. "Measuring Household Inflation Perceptions and Expectations: The Effect of Guided vs Non-Guided Inflation Questions," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Ha,Jongrim & Ivanova,Anna & Ohnsorge,Franziska Lieselotte & Unsal Portillo Ocando,Derya Filiz, 2019. "Inflation : Concepts, Evolution, and Correlates," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8738, The World Bank.
    7. Neyer, Ulrike & Stempel, Daniel, 2022. "How should central banks react to household inflation heterogeneity?," DICE Discussion Papers 378, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    8. Messner, Teresa & Rumler, Fabio, 2024. "Inflation heterogeneity across Austrian households. Evidence from household scanner data," Working Paper Series 2894, European Central Bank.
    9. Baez Ramirez,Javier Eduardo & Inan,Osman Kaan & Nebiler,Metin, 2021. "Getting Real ? The Uneven Burden of Inflation across Households in Turkey," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9869, The World Bank.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inequality; Gini; EU countries; income dependent inflation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

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