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Measures of underlying inflation for the euro area

Author

Listed:
  • Ehrmann, Michael
  • Ferrucci, Gianluigi
  • Lenza, Michele
  • O'Brien, Derry

Abstract

Headline inflation can be noisy, blurring the signal on the medium-term inflationary pressure relevant for monetary policy. To help distinguish signal from noise in the data, central banks monitor measures of underlying inflation. As there are many ways of measuring underlying inflation, it is important to understand the properties of the various indicators and what factors may account for any divergence between them. This article describes in detail the measures of underlying inflation typically used at the ECB and evaluates them against a set of empirical criteria. Our results suggest that no one measure of underlying inflation is superior in all situations as the performance of the indicators varies over time. In practice, each indicator comes with merits and shortcomings, which calls for monitoring the full range of measures of underlying inflation. JEL Classification: C52, C82, E31

Suggested Citation

  • Ehrmann, Michael & Ferrucci, Gianluigi & Lenza, Michele & O'Brien, Derry, 2018. "Measures of underlying inflation for the euro area," Economic Bulletin Articles, European Central Bank, vol. 4.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbart:2018:0004:3
    Note: 203739
    as

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Bobeica Elena & Holton Sarah & Koester Gerrit, 2023. "Bringing Inflation Back Under Control," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Sciendo, vol. 58(3), pages 136-141, June.
    2. Laurence Ball & Sandeep Mazumder, 2021. "A Phillips curve for the euro area," International Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(1), pages 2-17, April.
    3. Lenza, Michele & Moutachaker, Inès & Paredes, Joan, 2023. "Density forecasts of inflation: a quantile regression forest approach," Working Paper Series 2830, European Central Bank.
    4. Consolo, Agostino & Da Silva, António Dias, 2019. "The euro area labour market through the lens of the Beveridge curve," Economic Bulletin Articles, European Central Bank, vol. 4.
    5. Bańbura, Marta & Bobeica, Elena, 2020. "PCCI – a data-rich measure of underlying inflation in the euro area," Statistics Paper Series 38, European Central Bank.
    6. James H. Stock & Mark W. Watson, 2019. "Trend, Seasonal, and Sectoral Inflation in the Euro Area," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 847, Central Bank of Chile.
    7. Bańbura, Marta & Bobeica, Elena, 2023. "Does the Phillips curve help to forecast euro area inflation?," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 364-390.
    8. Carlomagno, Guillermo & Fornero, Jorge & Sansone, Andrés, 2023. "A proposal for constructing and evaluating core inflation measures," Latin American Journal of Central Banking (previously Monetaria), Elsevier, vol. 4(3).
    9. Guillermo Carlomagno & Jorge Fornero & Andrés Sansone, 2021. "Toward a general framework for constructing and evaluating core inflation measures," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 913, Central Bank of Chile.
    10. Christiane Nickel & Gerrit Koester & Eliza Lis, 2022. "Inflation Developments in the Euro Area Since the Onset of the Pandemic," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics;Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), vol. 57(2), pages 69-75, March.
    11. Hervé Le Bihan & Danilo Leiva-León & Matías Pacce, 2023. "Underlying inflation and asymetric risks," Working Papers 2319, Banco de España.
    12. Antoine Lalliard & Pierre-Antoine Robert, 2022. "A possible new indicator to measure core inflation in the euro area [Un nouvel indicateur possible pour mesurer l’inflation sous-jacente en zone euro]," Bulletin de la Banque de France, Banque de France, issue 240.
    13. Assenmacher, Katrin & Glöckler, Gabriel & Holton, Sarah & Trautmann, Peter & Ioannou, Demosthenes & Mee, Simon & Alonso, Conception & Argiri, Eleni & Arigoni, Filippo & Bakk-Simon, Klára & Bergbauer, , 2021. "Clear, consistent and engaging: ECB monetary policy communication in a changing world," Occasional Paper Series 274, European Central Bank.
    14. Chalmovianský, Jakub & Porqueddu, Mario & Sokol, Andrej, 2020. "Weigh(t)ing the basket: aggregate and component-based inflation forecasts for the euro area," Working Paper Series 2501, European Central Bank.
    15. Dennis Bonam & Gabriele Galati & Irma Hindrayanto & Marco Hoeberichts & Anna Samarina & Irina Stanga, 2019. "Inflation in the euro area since the Global Financial Crisis," DNB Occasional Studies 1703, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    16. James H. Stock & Mark W. Watson, 2019. "Trend, Seasonal, and Sectoral Inflation in the Euro Area," Working Papers 2019-30, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    17. Godinho, João & Hoefnagels, Ric & Braz, Catarina G. & Sousa, Ana M. & Granjo, José F.O., 2023. "An economic and greenhouse gas footprint assessment of international maritime transportation of hydrogen using liquid organic hydrogen carriers," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(PA).
    18. Stefano Neri, 2024. "There has been an awakening. The rise (and fall) of inflation in the euro area," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 834, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    HICP; measures of underlying inflation; medium term; price index; signal;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C52 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Evaluation, Validation, and Selection
    • C82 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Macroeconomic Data; Data Access
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation

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