La mesure de l’inflation au défi de la redistribution et de la valeur

The measurement of inflation is the result of two logics. First, it depends largely on representations of what matters, since it requires precise answers to the following questions: what quality criteria should be taken into account to give value to the good or service? Who takes the risk of affirming (normatively) that the observed changes are an additional “quality”? Is the quality thus valued desired or forced? Second, inflation is a component of redistributive arrangements because of direct or indirect indexations of income, social benefits and other elements that enter into the purchasing power of households. This article shows the importance of these two logics in the measurement conflicts that have run through the history of the consumer price index.