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Consumer price behaviour in Italy - evidence from micro CPI data

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Author Info
Giovanni Veronese () (Corresponding author: Bank of Italy, Economic Research Department, Via Nazionale 91, 00184 Roma, Italy.)
Silvia Fabiani (Bank of Italy, Economic Research Department, Via Nazionale 91, 00184 Roma, Italy.)
Roberto Sabbatini (Bank of Italy, Economic Research Department, Via Nazionale 91, 00184 Roma, Italy.)
Abstract

This paper investigates the behaviour of consumer prices in Italy by looking at micro data in the attempt to obtain a quantitative measure of the unconditional degree of price rigidity in the Italian economy. The analysis focuses on the monthly frequency of price changes and on the duration of price spells, also with reference to different types of products and outlets. Prices tend to remain unchanged on average for around 10 months; duration is longer for nonenergy industrial goods and services and much shorter for energy products. Price changes are more frequent upward than downward, in larger stores than in traditional ones. When the geographical location of outlets is accounted for, price changes display considerable synchronisation, in particular in the service sector.

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Paper provided by European Central Bank in its series Working Paper Series with number 449.

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Length: 46 pages
Date of creation: Mar 2005
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Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20050449

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Related research
Keywords: Consumer prices; nominal rigidity; frequency of price change.;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior
D40 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure and Pricing - - - General
E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Hall, Simon & Walsh, Mark & Yates, Anthony, 2000. "Are UK Companies' Prices Sticky?," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 52(3), pages 425-46, July.
  2. Luis J. Álvarez & Ignacio Hernando, 2004. "Price setting behaviour in Spain: stylised facts using consumer price micro data," Working Paper Series 416, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Lach, Saul & Tsiddon, Daniel, 1992. "The Behavior of Prices and Inflation: An Empirical Analysis of Disaggregated Price Data," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(2), pages 349-89, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Silvia Fabiani & Angela Gattulli & Roberto Sabbatini, 2004. "The pricing behaviour of Italian firms: new survey evidence on price stickiness," Working Paper Series 333, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
  5. Laurence Ball & N. Gregory Mankiw, 1994. "Asymmetric Price Adjustment and Economic Fluctuations," NBER Working Papers 4089, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Mark Bils & Peter J. Klenow, 2002. "Some Evidence on the Importance of Sticky Prices," NBER Working Papers 9069, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Eyal Baharad & Benjamin Eden, 2004. "Price Rigidity and Price Dispersion: Evidence from Micro Data," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 7(3), pages 613-641, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Lach, Saul & Tsiddon, Daniel, 1996. "Staggering and Synchronization in Price-Setting: Evidence from Multiproduct Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(5), pages 1175-96, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Kiefer, Nicholas M, 1988. "Economic Duration Data and Hazard Functions," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 26(2), pages 646-79, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Jerzy D. Konieczny & Andrzej Skrzypacz, 2000. "Inflation and Price Setting in a Natural Experiment," Econometric Society World Congress 2000 Contributed Papers 1132, Econometric Society. [Downloadable!]
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  11. Silvia Fabiani & Angela Gattulli & Roberto Sabbatini, 2004. "The pricing behaviour of Italian firms: new survey evidence on price stickiness," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 515, Bank of Italy, Economic Research Department. [Downloadable!]
  12. Alan S. Blinder, 1994. "On Sticky Prices: Academic Theories Meet the Real World," NBER Chapters, in: Monetary Policy, pages 117-154 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Patrick Lunnemann & Ladislav Wintr, 2006. "Are internet prices sticky?," Working Paper Series 645, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
  2. Patrick Lünnemann & Ladislav Wintr, 2006. "Are internet prices sticky?," BCL working papers 22, Central Bank of Luxembourg. [Downloadable!]
  3. Huw Dixon, 2006. "The distribution of contract durations across firms - a unified framework for understanding and comparing dynamic wage and price setting models," Working Paper Series 676, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Emmanuel Dhyne & Catherine Fuss & Hashem Pesaran & Patrick Sevestre, 2006. "Lumpy price adjustments : a microeconometric analysis," Research series 200610-12, National Bank of Belgium. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Patrick Lünnemann & Thomas Y. Mathä, 2005. "Consumer price behaviour in Luxembourg - evidence from micro CPI data," Working Paper Series 541, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Emmanuel Dhyne & Luis J. Álvarez & Hervé Le Bihan & Giovanni Veronese & Daniel Dias & Johannes Hoffmann & Nicole Jonker & Patrick Lünnemann & Fabio Rumler & Jouko Vilmunen, 2005. "Price setting in the euro area: Some stylized facts from Individual Consumer Price Data," Research series 200509-2, National Bank of Belgium. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Emmanuel Dhyne & Jerzy Konieczny, 2007. "Temporal Distribution of Price Changes : Staggering in the Large and Synchronization in the Small," Research series 200706-02, National Bank of Belgium. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Denis Fougère & Hervé Le Bihan & Patrick Sevestre, 2005. "Heterogeneity in consumer price stickiness - a microeconometric investigation," Working Paper Series 536, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Samu Kurri, 2007. "Price changes in Finland: some evidence from micro CPI data," Working Paper Series 728, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
  10. L. J. Álvarez & E. Dhyne & M. Hoeberichts & C. Kwapil & H. Le Bihan, 2005. "Sticky Prices in the Euro Area: a Summary of New Micro Evidence," DNB Working Papers 062, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  11. Alexander L. Wolman, 2007. "The frequency and costs of individual price adjustment," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(6), pages 531-552. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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