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Price Stickiness and Inflation

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Author Info
Richard de Abreu Lourenco (Reserve Bank of Australia)
David Gruen (Reserve Bank of Australia)
Abstract

A recent model of firms' pricing behaviour by Laurence Ball and Gregory Mankiw has novel implications for the effect of relative price shocks on inflation. This paper examines these implications and establishes the importance of expected inflation for this story. We derive the model relationship between expected inflation, the economy-wide distribution of industry price changes and actual inflation, and show that both Australian and US industry-price data strongly support this derived relationship. The inflationary impact of relative price shocks depends strongly on expected inflation. When expected inflation is high, a rise in the economy-wide dispersion of shocks is inflationary in the short-run. By contrast, when expected inflation is low, a rise in the dispersion of shocks has minimal impact on inflation. Economy-wide relative price shocks, like terms of trade shocks, are an unavoidable feature of the economic landscape. Their disruptive effect on inflation is minimal, however, when average inflation, and therefore average expected inflation, is kept low.

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Paper provided by Reserve Bank of Australia in its series RBA Research Discussion Papers with number rdp9502.

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Date of creation: Mar 1995
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Handle: RePEc:rba:rbardp:rdp9502

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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. Stanley Fischer, 1981. "Relative Shocks, Relative Price Variability, and Inflation," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 12(1981-2), pages 381-442. [Downloadable!]
  2. David Gruen & Geoffrey Shuetrim, 1994. "Internationalisation and the Macroeconomy," RBA Annual Conference Volume, in: Philip Lowe & Jacqueline Dwyer (ed.), International Intergration of the Australian Economy Reserve Bank of Australia. [Downloadable!]
  3. David E. Lebow & John M. Roberts & David J. Stockton, 1992. "Economic performance under price stability," Working Paper Series / Economic Activity Section 125, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
  4. Ball, L. & Mankiw, N.G., 1992. "Asymmetric Price Adjustment and Economic Fluctuations," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1602, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
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  5. Tobin, James, 1972. "Inflation and Unemployment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 62(1), pages 1-18, March.
  6. Ball, L. & Mankiw, G.H., 1992. "Relative-Price Change as Aggregate Supply Shocks," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1609, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
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  7. Hausman, Jerry A, 1978. "Specification Tests in Econometrics," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(6), pages 1251-71, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Sheshinski, Eytan & Weiss, Yoram, 1977. "Inflation and Costs of Price Adjustment," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44(2), pages 287-303, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Kahneman, Daniel & Knetsch, Jack L & Thaler, Richard, 1986. "Fairness as a Constraint on Profit Seeking: Entitlements in the Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(4), pages 728-41, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(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. Guy Debelle & Glenn Stevens, 1995. "Monetary Policy Goals for Inflation in Australia," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9503, Reserve Bank of Australia. [Downloadable!]
  2. Maria A. Caraballo & Carlos Usabiaga, 2006. "Inflation and Supply Shocks in Spain: A Regional Approach," ERSA conference papers ersa06p335, European Regional Science Association. [Downloadable!]
  3. Constantina Kottaridi & Diego Mendez-Carbajo & Dimitrios Thomakos, 2007. "Inflation Dynamics and the Cross-Sectional Distribution of Prices in the E.U. Periphery," Working Papers 0004, University of Peloponnese, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Carlos Usabiaga & María Ángeles Caraballo, 2004. "Inflation and Nominal Rigidities in Spanish Regions: The Ball and Mankiw Approach," ERSA conference papers ersa04p12, European Regional Science Association. [Downloadable!]
  5. María Ángeles Caraballo & Carlos Usabiaga, 2006. "The Relevance of Supply Shocks for Inflation: The Spanish Case," Economic Working Papers at Centro de Estudios Andaluces E2006/17, Centro de Estudios Andaluces. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Mª Ángeles Caraballo Pou & Carlos Dabús, 2005. "Nominal rigidities, relative prices and skewness," Economic Working Papers at Centro de Estudios Andaluces E2005/17, Centro de Estudios Andaluces. [Downloadable!]
  7. Luc Aucremanne & Guy Brys & Mia Hubert & Peter J. Rousseeuw & Anja Struyf, 2002. "Inflation, relative prices and nominal rigidities," Research series 200205-1, National Bank of Belgium. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Jörg Döpke & Christian Pierdzioch, 2001. "Inflation and the Skewness of the Distribution of Relative Price Changes: Empirical Evidence for Germany," Kiel Working Papers 1059, Kiel Institute for the World Economy. [Downloadable!]
  9. Jacqueline Dwyer & Kenneth Leong, 2000. "Nominal Wage Rigidity in Australia," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp2000-08, Reserve Bank of Australia. [Downloadable!]
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