IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/bca/bocsan/17-20.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Digitalization and Inflation: A Review of the Literature

Author

Listed:
  • Karyne B. Charbonneau
  • Alexa Evans
  • Subrata Sarker
  • Lena Suchanek

Abstract

In the past few years, many have postulated that the possible disinflationary effects of digitalization could explain the subdued inflation in advanced economies. In this note, we review the evidence found in the literature. We look at three main channels. First, we find that changes in the prices of information and communication technology-related goods and services included in the CPI have had a negligible effect on inflation in Canada. Second, we find that, due to the small share of e-commerce in Canada and the remarkably similar behaviour of online and offline prices, the “Amazon effect” has only had a small disinflationary impact to date. As e-commerce grows, however, downward pressure on inflation may amplify in the future through increased competition, but digitalization may also increase market concentration. Finally, although cost-efficient technologies should lead to increased productivity, which would put downward pressure on inflation, this effect has yet to appear in the statistics. Overall, we find it unlikely that digitalization has so far had a significant effect on inflation in Canada.

Suggested Citation

  • Karyne B. Charbonneau & Alexa Evans & Subrata Sarker & Lena Suchanek, 2017. "Digitalization and Inflation: A Review of the Literature," Staff Analytical Notes 17-20, Bank of Canada.
    • Handle: RePEc:bca:bocsan:17-20
    DOI: 10.34989/san-2017-20
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.34989/san-2017-20
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.bankofcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/san2017-20.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.34989/san-2017-20?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alberto Cavallo, 2017. "Are Online and Offline Prices Similar? Evidence from Large Multi-channel Retailers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(1), pages 283-303, January.
    2. David Autor & David Dorn & Lawrence F Katz & Christina Patterson & John Van Reenen, 2020. "The Fall of the Labor Share and the Rise of Superstar Firms [“Automation and New Tasks: How Technology Displaces and Reinstates Labor”]," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(2), pages 645-709.
    3. David M. Byrne & John G. Fernald & Marshall B. Reinsdorf, 2016. "Does the United States Have a Productivity Slowdown or a Measurement Problem?," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 47(1 (Spring), pages 109-182.
    4. Nadim Ahmad & Jennifer Ribarsky & Marshall Reinsdorf, 2017. "Can potential mismeasurement of the digital economy explain the post-crisis slowdown in GDP and productivity growth?," OECD Statistics Working Papers 2017/9, OECD Publishing.
    5. Dan Andrews & Chiara Criscuolo & Peter N. Gal, 2015. "Frontier Firms, Technology Diffusion and Public Policy: Micro Evidence from OECD Countries," OECD Productivity Working Papers 2, OECD Publishing.
    6. Dany Brouillette & Laurence Savoie-Chabot, 2017. "Global Factors and Inflation in Canada," Staff Analytical Notes 17-17, Bank of Canada.
    7. Wei Dong & James Fudurich & Lena Suchanek, 2017. "Digital Transformation in the Service Sector: Insights from Consultations with Firms in Wholesale, Retail and Logistics," Staff Analytical Notes 17-19, Bank of Canada.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Okorie, David Iheke & Adedeji, Adeniran & Ifionu, Chinedu, 2025. "Assessing digitalization and the economy: A dynamic recursive CGE modelling approach," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(4).
    2. Donni Fajar Anugrah & Novi Maryaningsih & Andi Widianto & Tri Kurnia Ayu S. & Fickry Widya N. & Arief N. Rachman & Minda Putri Dwinanda & Citra Amanda & Eunike Vrigie Ruth Y. & Tio Angie P. Samosir & , 2024. "Digitalization Through E-Commerce And Its Effects On Inflation In Indonesia," Working Papers WP/01/2024, Bank Indonesia.
    3. Richard Beard & Anne-Katherine Cormier & Michael Francis & Katerina Gribbin & Justin-Damien Guénette & Christopher Hajzler & Kristina Hess & James Ketcheson & Kun Mo & Louis Poirier & Peter Selcuk, 2018. "Assessing Global Potential Output Growth: April 2018," Staff Analytical Notes 2018-9, Bank of Canada.
    4. Eric J. Bartelsman, 2019. "From New Technology to Productivity," European Economy - Discussion Papers 113, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    5. Fares Bounajm & Jean-Philippe Cayen & Michael Francis & Christopher Hajzler & Kristina Hess & Guillaume Poulin-Bellisle & Peter Selcuk, 2019. "Assessing Global Potential Output Growth: April 2019," Staff Analytical Notes 2019-13, Bank of Canada.
    6. Ha,Jongrim & Ivanova,Anna & Ohnsorge,Franziska Lieselotte & Unsal Portillo Ocando,Derya Filiz, 2019. "Inflation : Concepts, Evolution, and Correlates," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8738, The World Bank.
    7. Fares Bounajm & Jean-Philippe Cayen & Michael Francis & Christopher Hajzler & Kristina Hess & Guillaume Poulin-Bellisle & Peter Selcuk, 2019. "Évaluation de la croissance de la production potentielle mondiale : avril 2019," Staff Analytical Notes 2019-13fr, Bank of Canada.
    8. Vivian Chu & Tatjana Dahlhaus & Christopher Hajzler, 2023. "Digitalization: Prices of Goods and Services," Discussion Papers 2023-27, Bank of Canada.
    9. Ismail H. Genc & Mohammad Arzaghi, 2024. "Did the COVID-19 pandemic permanently impact e-commerce in the US market?," Modern Finance, Modern Finance Institute, vol. 2(1), pages 18-30.
    10. Robert Laskowski, 2022. "Differences between Online Prices and the Consumer Prices Index During Covid-19 in Germany," ACTA VSFS, University of Finance and Administration, vol. 16(1), pages 76-87.
    11. Fiskara Indawan & Aryo Sasongko & Dian Rahmawati, 2023. "Price Setting Behavior In An Online Market," Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking, Bank Indonesia, vol. 26(2), pages 192-220, May.
    12. Anne-Katherine Cormier & Michael Francis & Kristina Hess & Guillaume Poulin-Bellisle, 2019. "Drivers of Weak Wage Growth in Advanced Economies," Staff Analytical Notes 2019-3, Bank of Canada.
    13. Emilio Ocampo, 2020. "The Global Disinflation Puzzle. A Selective Review of the Theory and Evidence in an Historical Context," CEMA Working Papers: Serie Documentos de Trabajo. 726, Universidad del CEMA.
    14. Lei Lv & Zhixin Liu & Yingying Xu, 2019. "Technological progress, globalization and low-inflation: Evidence from the United States," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(4), pages 1-19, April.
    15. Christian Friedrich & Peter Selcuk, 2022. "The Impact of Globalization and Digitalization on the Phillips Curve," Staff Working Papers 22-7, Bank of Canada.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anderton, Robert & Jarvis, Valerie & Labhard, Vincent & Morgan, Julian & Petroulakis, Filippos & Vivian, Lara, 2020. "Virtually everywhere? Digitalisation and the euro area and EU economies," Occasional Paper Series 244, European Central Bank.
    2. Alexander S. Kritikos & Alexander Schiersch & Caroline Stiel, 2022. "The productivity shock in business services," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 1273-1299, October.
    3. Ian Goldin & Pantelis Koutroumpis & François Lafond & Julian Winkler, 2024. "Why Is Productivity Slowing Down?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 62(1), pages 196-268, March.
    4. Weche John P. & Wambach Achim, 2021. "The Fall and Rise of Market Power in Europe," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 241(5-6), pages 555-575, November.
    5. Ha,Jongrim & Ivanova,Anna & Ohnsorge,Franziska Lieselotte & Unsal Portillo Ocando,Derya Filiz, 2019. "Inflation : Concepts, Evolution, and Correlates," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8738, The World Bank.
    6. DUERNECKER Georg & SANCHEZ MARTINEZ Miguel, 2021. "Structural change and productivity growth in the European Union: Past, present and future," JRC Working Papers on Territorial Modelling and Analysis 2021-09, Joint Research Centre.
    7. Pardesi, Mantej, 2024. "Productivity convergence and firm’s training strategy," ROA Research Memorandum 003, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    8. Steffen Elstner & Lars P. Feld & Christoph M. Schmidt, 2018. "The German Productivity Paradox - Facts and Explanations," CESifo Working Paper Series 7231, CESifo.
    9. Nieto-Carrillo, Ernesto & Carreira, Carlos & Teixeira, Paulino, 2024. "Industrial dynamics in the ICT technological paradigm: The case of Portugal, 1986–2018," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 155-170.
    10. Cette, Gilbert & Fernald, John & Mojon, Benoît, 2016. "The pre-Great Recession slowdown in productivity," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 3-20.
    11. James Fudurich & Lena Suchanek & Lise Pichette, 2021. "Adoption of digital technologies: Insights from a global survey initiative," Discussion Papers 2021-7, Bank of Canada.
    12. Alessandro Ferrari & Francisco Queirós, 2021. "Firm Heterogeneity, Market Power and Macroeconomic Fragility," CSEF Working Papers 627, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    13. Christian Osterhold, 2018. "Fear the walking dead: zombie firms, spillovers and exit barriers," Working Papers w201811, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    14. Kerstin Hötte & Angelos Theodorakopoulos & Pantelis Koutroumpis, 2024. "Automation and taxation," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 76(4), pages 945-969.
    15. Francesca Lotti & Enrico Sette, 2019. "Frontier and Superstar Firms in Italy," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 537, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    16. Parteka, Aleksandra & Kordalska, Aleksandra, 2023. "Artificial intelligence and productivity: global evidence from AI patent and bibliometric data," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    17. Akcigit, Ufuk & Akgunduz, Yusuf Emre & Cilasun, Seyit Mumin & Ozcan-Tok, Elif & Yilmaz, Fatih, 2020. "Facts on business dynamism in Turkey," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    18. Leonard I. Nakamura, 2020. "Evidence of Accelerating Mismeasurement of Growth and Inflation in the U.S. in the 21st Century," Working Papers 20-41, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    19. Ryan A. Decker & John Haltiwanger & Ron S. Jarmin & Javier Miranda, 2017. "Declining Dynamism, Allocative Efficiency, and the Productivity Slowdown," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 322-326, May.
    20. Ana Bottega & Rafael S. M. Ribeiro, 2023. "Kalecki meets Schumpeter: The decline of competition in a demand‐led dynamic model," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(3), pages 584-605, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bca:bocsan:17-20. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/bocgvca.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.