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Measuring the Cost of Living in Mexico and the United States

Author

Listed:
  • David Argente
  • Chang-Tai Hsieh
  • Munseob Lee

Abstract

We use a dataset with prices and spending on consumer packaged goods matched at the bar code level across the United States and Mexico to measure the price index in Mexico relative to the United States. Mexican prices relative to the United States are 23 percent lower compared to the International Comparisons Project's (ICP) price index. We decompose the 23 percent gap into the biases from imputation, sampling, quality, and variety. Quality bias increases Mexican prices by 48 percent. Imputation, sampling, and variety bias lowers Mexican prices by 11 percent, 13 percent, and 33 percent, respectively.

Suggested Citation

  • David Argente & Chang-Tai Hsieh & Munseob Lee, 2023. "Measuring the Cost of Living in Mexico and the United States," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(3), pages 43-63, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejmac:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:43-63
    DOI: 10.1257/mac.20200486
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Osbat, Chiara & Conflitti, Cristina & Eiglsperger, Martin & Goldhammer, Bernhard & Kuik, Friderike & Menz, Jan-Oliver & Rumler, Fabio & Moreno, Marta Saez & Segers, Lina & Wieland, Elisabeth & Bellocc, 2023. "Measuring inflation with heterogeneous preferences, taste shifts and product innovation: methodological challenges and evidence from microdata," Occasional Paper Series 323, European Central Bank.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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