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What’s behind firms’ inflation forecasts?

Author

Listed:
  • Cristina Conflitti

    (Banca d’Italia)

  • Roberta Zizza

    (Banca d’Italia)

Abstract

On what do firms base their expectations about future inflation? We investigate this by exploiting the Survey of Inflation and Growth Expectations carried out by Banca d’Italia and Il Sole 24 Ore on a sample of Italian firms. Several sources of information contribute to shaping short- and long-term expectations, such as media reports, professional forecasts, personal shopping experience, the inflation experienced when dealing with suppliers and the contract collective bargaining agreements. We find that firms’ inflation expectations are significantly affected by wage increases; being treated with the information on past inflation also plays a part. By estimating a price pass-through of wages at the firm level, we also argue that the process of prices’ adjustment following a contract renewal matters for shaping the view of entrepreneurs on consumer prices at the macro-level.

Suggested Citation

  • Cristina Conflitti & Roberta Zizza, 2021. "What’s behind firms’ inflation forecasts?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 61(5), pages 2449-2475, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:61:y:2021:i:5:d:10.1007_s00181-020-01958-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-020-01958-5
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    Cited by:

    1. Marco Bottone & Cristina Conflitti & Marianna Riggi & Alex Tagliabracci, 2021. "Firms' inflation expectations and pricing strategies during Covid-19," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 619, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    2. Olivier Coibion & Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Tiziano Ropele, 2020. "Inflation Expectations and Firm Decisions: New Causal Evidence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(1), pages 165-219.
    3. Sara Cecchetti & Davide Fantino & Alessandro Notarpietro & Marianna Riggi & Alex Tagliabracci & Andrea Tiseno & Roberta Zizza, 2021. "Inflation expectations in the euro area: indicators, analyses and models used at Banca d’Italia," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 612, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    4. Alessandro Mistretta, 2021. "Business cycle synchronization or business cycle transmission? The effect of the German slowdown on the Italian economy," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1346, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    5. Marianna Riggi & Alex Tagliabracci, 2022. "Price rigidities, input costs, and inflation expectations: understanding firms’ pricing decisions from micro data," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 733, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    6. Frédérique Savignac & Erwan Gautier & Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Olivier Coibion, 2021. "Firms' Inflation Expectations: New Evidence from France," NBER Working Papers 29376, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Baumann, Ursel & Darracq Pariès, Matthieu & Westermann, Thomas & Riggi, Marianna & Bobeica, Elena & Meyler, Aidan & Böninghausen, Benjamin & Fritzer, Friedrich & Trezzi, Riccardo & Jonckheere, Jana & , 2021. "Inflation expectations and their role in Eurosystem forecasting," Occasional Paper Series 264, European Central Bank.
    8. Stefano Neri & Guido Bulligan & Sara Cecchetti & Francesco Corsello & Andrea Papetti & Marianna Riggi & Concetta Rondinelli & Alex Tagliabracci, 2022. "On the anchoring of inflation expectations in the euro area," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 712, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    9. Bottone, Marco & Tagliabracci, Alex & Zevi, Giordano, 2022. "Inflation expectations and the ECB’s perceived inflation objective: Novel evidence from firm-level data," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(S), pages 15-34.
    10. Marco Bottone & Alex Tagliabracci & Giordano Zevi, 2021. "Inflation expectations and the ECB’s perceived inflation objective: novel evidence from firm-level data," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 621, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inflation expectations; Survey data; Wages; Information rigidity; Price pass-through;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation

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