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Recovering historical inflation data from postal stamps prices

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  • Franses, Ph.H.B.F.
  • Janssens, E.

Abstract

For many developing countries, historical inflation figures are rarely available. We propose a simple method, which aims to recover such figures thereby using prices of postal stamps, issued in earlier years. We illustrate our method for Suriname where annual inflation rates are available for 1961 until 2015, and where fluctuations in inflation rates are prominent. We estimate the inflation rates for the sample 1873 to 1960. Our main finding is that high inflation periods usually last no longer than 2 or 3 years.

Suggested Citation

  • Franses, Ph.H.B.F. & Janssens, E., 2016. "Recovering historical inflation data from postal stamps prices," Econometric Institute Research Papers EI2016-33, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus School of Economics (ESE), Econometric Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:ems:eureir:93332
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    Cited by:

    1. Franses, Philip Hans & Janssens, Eva, 2018. "Inflation in Africa, 1960–2015," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 261-292.
    2. Chia-Lin Chang, 2020. "Editorial for Applied Econometrics," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-5, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    inflation; postage stamps; price recovery; historical time series;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • N10 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • N16 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Latin America; Caribbean

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