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Estimating Daily Inflation Using Scanner Data: A Progress Report

Author

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  • Kota Watanabe

    (Chuo University and University of Tokyo)

  • Tsutomu Watanabe

    (University of Tokyo)

Abstract

We construct a T¨ornqvist daily price index using Japanese point of sale (POS) scanner data spanning from 1988 to 2013. We find the following. First, the POS based inflation rate tends to be about 0.5 percentage points lower than the CPI inflation rate, although the difference between the two varies over time. Second, the difference between the two measures is greatest from 1992 to 1994, when, following the burst of bubble economy in 1991, the POS inflation rate drops rapidly and turns negative in June 1992, while the CPI inflation rate remains positive until summer 1994. Third, the standard deviation of daily POS inflation is 1.1 percent compared to a standard deviation for the monthly change in the CPI of 0.2 percent, indicating that daily POS inflation is much more volatile, mainly due to frequent switching between regular and sale prices. We show that the volatility in daily inflation can be reduced by more than 2daily inflation rate 0 percent by trimming the tails of product-level price change distributions. Finally, if we measure price changes from one day to the next and construct a chained T¨ornqvist index, a strong chain drift arises so that the chained price index falls to 10-10 of the base value over the 25-year sample period, which is equivalent to an annual deflation rate of 60 percent. We provide evidence suggesting that one source of the chain drift is fluctuations in sales quantity before, during, and after a sale period.

Suggested Citation

  • Kota Watanabe & Tsutomu Watanabe, 2014. "Estimating Daily Inflation Using Scanner Data: A Progress Report," UTokyo Price Project Working Paper Series 020, University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:upd:utppwp:020
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jessie Handbury & Tsutomu Watanabe & David E. Weinstein, 2013. "How Much Do Official Price Indexes Tell Us about Inflation?," NBER Working Papers 19504, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    10. Satoshi Imai & Chihiro Shimizu & Tsutomu Watanabe, 2012. "How Fast Are Prices in Japan Falling?," CARF F-Series CARF-F-298, Center for Advanced Research in Finance, Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo.
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    13. Nao Sudo & Kozo Ueda & Kota Watanabe, 2014. "Micro Price Dynamics during Japan's Lost Decades," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 9(1), pages 44-64, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Satoshi Imai & Tsutomu Watanabe, 2015. "Replicating Japan's CPI Using Scanner Data," CARF F-Series CARF-F-364, Center for Advanced Research in Finance, Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo.
    2. Ko Munakata & Takeshi Shinohara & Shigenori Shiratsuka & Nao Sudo & Tsutomu Watanabe, 2023. "On the Source of Seasonality in Price Changes: The Role of Seasonality in Menu Costs," IMES Discussion Paper Series 23-E-07, Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, Bank of Japan.
    3. Tsutomu Watanabe & Tomoyoshi Yabu, 2018. "The Demand for Money at the Zero Interest Rate Bound," CARF F-Series CARF-F-444, Center for Advanced Research in Finance, Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo.
    4. Kozo Ueda & Kota Watanabe & Tsutomu Watanabe, 2021. "Household Inventory, Temporary Sales, and Price Indices," CARF F-Series CARF-F-520, Center for Advanced Research in Finance, Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo.
    5. Satoshi Imai & Tsutomu Watanabe, 2015. "Replicating Japan’s CPI Using Scanner Data," UTokyo Price Project Working Paper Series 054, University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Economics.
    6. Kozo Ueda & Kota Watanabe & Tsutomu Watanabe, 2020. "Consumer Inventory and the Cost of Living Index: Theory and Some Evidence from Japan," Working Papers on Central Bank Communication 025, University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Economics.
    7. Ko Munakata & Takeshi Shinohara & Shigenori Shiratsuka & Nao Sudo & Tsutomu Watanabe, 2023. "On the Source of Seasonality in Price Changes: The Role of Seasonality in Menu Costs," Keio-IES Discussion Paper Series 2023-016, Institute for Economics Studies, Keio University.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    scanner data; consumer price index; T¨ornqvist index; chain drift; trimmed means; regular and sale prices; deflation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation

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