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Rational inattention, inflation developments and perceptions after the euro cash changeover

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Author Info
Michael Ehrmann () (European Central Bank, Kaiserstrasse 29, Postfach 16 03 19, 60066 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.)

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Abstract

This paper uses the euro cash changeover to test theories of finite information processing capacities on the side of consumers. It argues that the denomination of prices in a new currency has increased the information-processing requirements for consumers by more than for sellers, a wedge that can lead to price increases. The size of the wedge should depend on the complexity of the currency conversion rates. In line with this theory, the paper finds that the evolution of prices for food products around the cash changeover varied across countries, depending on the complexity of conversion rates. These changeover effects are found in particular for goods with prices below one euro sold in mid-priced stores. The paper also finds that cross-country differences in the mismatch of perceived and actual inflation in the aftermath of the cash changeover are linked to differences in the complexity of conversion rates. JEL Classification: D84; E31; E58; L11.

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Paper provided by European Central Bank in its series Working Paper Series with number 588.

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Length: 50 pages
Date of creation: Feb 2006
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Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20060588

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Related research
Keywords: rational inattention; perceived inflation; euro cash changeover.;

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This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: 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. Levy, Daniel & Lee, Dongwon & Chen, Allan (Haipeng) & Kauffman, Robert & Bergen, Mark, 2007. "Price Points and Price Rigidity," MPRA Paper 1472, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
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  2. Giancarlo Marini & Fabrizio Adriani & Pasquale Scaramozzino, 2003. "The Inflationary Consequences of a Currency Changeover: Evidence from the Michelin Red Guide," CEIS Research Paper 27, Tor Vergata University, CEIS. [Downloadable!]
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  3. Ricardo Reis, 2004. "Inattentive Consumers," NBER Working Papers 10883, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Giovanni Mastrobuoni, 2004. "The Effects of the Euro-Conversion on Prices and Price Perceptions," Working Papers 101, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies.. [Downloadable!]
  5. Klaus Adam, 2003. "Optimal Monetary Policy with Imperfect Common Knowledge," Computing in Economics and Finance 2003 263, Society for Computational Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Álvarez, L. & Dias, D. & Dhyne, E. & Hoffmann, J. & Jonker, N. & Le Bihan, H. & Lünnemann, P. & Rumler, F. & Veronese, G. & Vilmunen, J., 2005. "Price Setting in the Euro Area: Some Stylized Facts from Individual Consumer Price Data," Documents de Travail 136, Banque de France. [Downloadable!]
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  7. Charles Engel & John H. Rogers, 2004. "European product market integration after the euro," Economic Policy, CEPR, CES, MSH, vol. 19(39), pages 347-384, 07. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Reis, Ricardo, 2005. "Inattentive Producers," CEPR Discussion Papers 5393, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Paolo Angelini & Francesco Lippi, 2006. "Did inflation really soar after the euro cash changeover? Indirect evidence from ATM withdrawals," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 581, Bank of Italy, Economic Research Department. [Downloadable!]
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  10. C.K. Folkertsma & C. van Renselaar & A.C.J. Stokman, 2002. "Smooth Euro Changeover, Higher Prices? Results of a Survey Among Dutch Retailers," WO Research Memoranda (discontinued) 682, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department. [Downloadable!]
  11. Silvia Fabiani & Claudia Kwapil & Martine Druant & Ignacio Hernando & Bettina Landau & Claire Loupias & Fernando Martins & Thomas Y. Mathä & Roberto Sabbatini & Harald Stahl & Ad C. J. Stokman, 2005. "The pricing behaviour of firms in the euro area - new survey evidence," Working Paper Series 535, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
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  12. Ignazio Angeloni & Michael Ehrmann, 2004. "Euro area inflation differentials," Working Paper Series 388, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
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  13. Mark Zbaracki & Mark Ritson & Daniel Levy & Shantanu Dutta & Mark Bergen, 2004. "Managerial and Customer Costs of Price Adjustment: Direct Evidence from Industrial Markets," Macroeconomics 0402020, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
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  14. Daniel Levy & Haipeng Allan Chen & Sourav Ray & Mark Bergen, 2004. "Asymmetric Price Adjustment "in the Small:" An Implication of Rational Inattention," Macroeconomics 0407012, EconWPA, revised 11 May 2005. [Downloadable!]
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  15. Luc Aucremann & David Cornille, 2001. "Attractive prices and euro-rounding effects on inflation," Documents series 200111, National Bank of Belgium. [Downloadable!]
  16. Rotemberg, Julio J., 2005. "Customer anger at price increases, changes in the frequency of price adjustment and monetary policy," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(4), pages 829-852, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Sims, Christopher A., 2003. "Implications of rational inattention," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 665-690, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Edmund Cannon & Giam Pietro Cipriani, 2003. "Euro-illusion: a natural experiment," Bristol Economics Discussion Papers 03/556, Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK. [Downloadable!]
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  19. Raghubir, Priya & Srivastava, Joydeep, 2002. " Effect of Face Value on Product Valuation in Foreign Currencies," Journal of Consumer Research: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(3), pages 335-47, December.
  20. John Ameriks & Andrew Caplin & John Leahy, 2004. "The Absent-Minded Consumer," NBER Working Papers 10216, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  21. Bart Hobijn & Federico Ravenna & Andrea Tambalotti, 2004. "Menu costs at work: restaurant prices and the introduction of the euro," Staff Reports 195, Federal Reserve Bank of New York. [Downloadable!]
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  22. Kooreman, Peter & Faber, Riemer & Hofmans, Heleen, 2004. "Charity Donations and the Euro Introduction: Some Quasi-Experimental Evidence on Money Illusion," IZA Discussion Papers 1318, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  23. Michael Woodford, 2001. "Imperfect Common Knowledge and the Effects of Monetary Policy," NBER Working Papers 8673, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  24. Aucremanne, L. & Cornille, D., 2001. "Attractive Prices and Euro-Rounding Effects on Inflation," Papers 17, Warwick - Development Economics Research Centre.
  25. Eugenio Gaiotti & Francesco Lippi, 2005. "Pricing behavior and the introduction of the euro: evidence from a panel of restaurants," Macroeconomics 0501029, EconWPA, revised 15 Feb 2005. [Downloadable!]
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Full references

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. Katja Funke & Christiane Nickel, 2006. "Does fiscal policy matter for the trade account? A panel cointegration study," Working Paper Series 620, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
  2. Thomas A. Eife & W. Timothy Coombs, 2007. "Coping with People's Inflation Perceptions during a Currency Changeover," Working Papers 0458, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics, revised Nov 2007. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Taun N. Toay & Theodore Pelagidis, 2006. "Expensive Living: The Greek Experience under the Euro," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_484, Levy Economics Institute, The. [Downloadable!]
  4. Ricardo Mestre, 2007. "Are survey-based inflation expectations in the euro area informative," Working Paper Series 721, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
  5. Paolo Del Giovane & Roberto Sabbatini, 2006. "Perceived and Measured Inflation after the Launch of the Euro: Explaining the Gap in Italy," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 65(2), pages 155-192, November. [Downloadable!]
  6. Lorenzo Cappiello & Peter Hördahl & Arjan Kadareja & Simone Manganelli, 2006. "The impact of the euro on financial markets," Working Paper Series 598, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
  7. Daniel A. Dias & Carlos Robalo Marques & João M. C. Santos Silva, 2006. "Measuring the importance of the uniform nonsynchronization hypothesis," Working Paper Series 606, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
  8. Ignazio Angeloni & Luc Aucremanne & Matteo Ciccarelli, 2006. "Price setting and inflation persistence: did EMU matter?," Working Paper Series 597, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
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  9. Domenico Giannone & Lucrezia Reichlin, 2006. "Trends and cycles in the euro area: how much heterogeneity and should we worry about it?," Working Paper Series 595, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
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  10. Sarah M. Lein & Thomas Maag, 2008. "The Formation of Inflation Perceptions – Some Empirical Facts for European Countries," KOF Working papers 08-204, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich. [Downloadable!]
  11. Parsley, David & Wei, Shang-jin, 2007. "In Search of a Euro Effect: Big Lessons from a Big Mac Meal?," MPRA Paper 6041, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
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  12. António Afonso & Vítor Gaspar, 2006. "Excess burden and the cost of inefficiency in public services provision," Working Paper Series 601, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
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  13. Amelie Gamble, 2007. "The “Euro Illusion”: Illusion or Fact?," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 323-336, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Thomas A. Eife, 2006. "Price setting behaviour and price setting regulations at the euro changeover," Bank of Estonia Working Papers 2006-06, Bank of Estonia, revised 12 Oct 2006. [Downloadable!]
  15. Paolo Vitale, 2006. "A market microstructure analysis of foreign exchange intervention," Working Paper Series 629, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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