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Consumer Price Setting In Italy

Author

Listed:
  • Silvia Fabiani

    (BANK OF ITALY)

  • Angela Gattulli

    (BANK OF ITALY)

  • Roberto Sabbatini

    (BANK OF ITALY)

  • Giovanni Veronese

    (BANK OF ITALY)

Abstract
This paper investigates the microeconomic behaviour of consumer prices in Italy using the individual price records underlying the Italian CPI dataset collected by Istat. We discuss how to analyse price stickiness using such a detailed database and compute a quantitative measure of the unconditional degree of price rigidity in the Italian economy. The analysis focuses on the monthly frequency of price changes and on the duration of price spells, with a sectoral breakdown as well as with a classification by type of outlet. Prices are in general found to be rather sticky, remaining unchanged on average for around 10 months; price spells last longer for non-energy industrial goods and services, much less for energy products. Prices are revised more frequently upwards than downwards, while the size of price changes is quite symmetric. Price st ickiness is found to be less marked in large modern stores than in smaller traditional shops. Price changes display considerable synchronisation, in particular in the services sector. The average frequency of price changes and the probability of observing a price change over time and across items are positively related to headline inflation and increases in VAT rates and negatively related to the share of attractive prices. These findings are consistent with the ones reported in similar national studies for other countries of the euro area, which were conducted by the National Central Banks within the Eurosystem Inflation Persistence Network.

Suggested Citation

  • Silvia Fabiani & Angela Gattulli & Roberto Sabbatini & Giovanni Veronese, 2005. "Consumer Price Setting In Italy," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 556, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_556_05
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Silvia Fabiani & Angela Gattulli & Giovanni Veronese & Roberto Sabbatini, 2010. "Price adjustment in Italy: evidence from micro producer and consumer prices," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(2-3), pages 93-104.
    2. Luis J. Álvarez & Emmanuel Dhyne & Marco Hoeberichts & Claudia Kwapil & Hervé Le Bihan & Patrick Lünnemann & Fernando Martins & Roberto Sabbatini & Harald Stahl & Philip Vermeulen & Jouko Vilmunen, 2006. "Sticky Prices in the Euro Area: A Summary of New Micro-Evidence," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 4(2-3), pages 575-584, 04-05.
    3. Klenow, Peter J. & Malin, Benjamin A., 2010. "Microeconomic Evidence on Price-Setting," Handbook of Monetary Economics, in: Benjamin M. Friedman & Michael Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Monetary Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 6, pages 231-284, Elsevier.
    4. Paolo Giovane & Roberto Sabbatini, 2008. "Perceived and measured inflation after the launch of the euro: explaining the gap in Italy," Springer Books, in: Paolo Giovane & Roberto Sabbatini (ed.), The Euro, Inflation and Consumer’s Perceptions, chapter 1, pages 13-49, Springer.
    5. Eugenio Gaiotti, 2010. "Commentary: Has Globalization Changed the Phillips Curve? Firm-Level Evidence on the Effect of Activity on Prices," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 6(1), pages 51-84, March.
    6. Josef Baumgartner & Ernst Glatzer & Fabio Rumler & Alfred Stiglbauer, 2005. "How Frequently Do Consumer Prices Change in Austria? Evidence from Micro CPI Data," Working Papers 101, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank).
    7. Andrea Vaona & Guido Ascari, 2012. "Regional Inflation Persistence: Evidence from Italy," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(4), pages 509-523, June.
    8. Emmanuel Dhyne & Luis J. Álvarez & Hervé Le Bihan & Giovanni Veronese & Daniel Dias & Johannes Hoffmann & Nicole Jonker & Patrick Lünnemann & Fabio Rumler & Jouko Vilmunen, 2005. "Price setting in the euro area: Some stylized facts from Individual Consumer Price Data," Working Paper Research 74, National Bank of Belgium.
    9. Alvarez González, Luis Julián, 2008. "What Do Micro Price Data Tell Us on the Validity of the New Keynesian Phillips Curve?," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 2, pages 1-36.
    10. Huw D. Dixon, 2010. "A Unified Framework for Using Micro-Data to Compare Dynamic Wage and Price Setting Models," CESifo Working Paper Series 3093, CESifo.
    11. Matteo Bugamelli & Alfonso Rosolia, 2006. "Productivity and foreign competition," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 578, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    12. Fauzia SOHAIL* & Ambreen FATIMA**, 2018. "PRICE SETTING BEHAVIOUR IN PAKISTAN: Stylized Facts from Micro SPI Dataset," Pakistan Journal of Applied Economics, Applied Economics Research Centre, vol. 28(2), pages 253-286.
    13. Carlos Carvalho & Niels Arne Dam, 2009. "Estimating the cross-sectional distribution of price stickiness from aggregate data," Staff Reports 419, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    14. Rafael Portillo & Luis-Felipe Zanna & Stephen O’Connell & Richard Peck, 2016. "Implications of food subsistence for monetary policy and inflation," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 68(3), pages 782-810.
    15. Luca Dedola & Erwan Gautier & Chiara Osbat & Sergio Santoro, 2024. "Price Stickiness in the Euro Area," Working papers 958, Banque de France.
    16. Gautier, Erwan & Karadi, Peter & Conflitti, Cristina & Fabo, Brian & Fadejeva, Ludmila & Fuss, Catherine & Kosma, Theodora & Jouvanceau, Valentin & Martins, Fernando & Menz, Jan-Oliver & Messner, Tere, 2023. "Price adjustment in the euro area in the low-inflation period: evidence from consumer and producer micro price data," Occasional Paper Series 319, European Central Bank.
    17. Gastón Chaumont & Miguel Fuentes & Felipe Labbé & Alberto Naudon, 2011. "Dinámica de Precios en Chile: Evidencia con datos de Supermercados," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 642, Central Bank of Chile.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    consumer prices; nominal rigidity; frequency of price change;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • D40 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - General
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation

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