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Sanctions and Russian online prices

Author

Listed:
  • Jonathan Benchimol

    (Bank of Israel)

  • Luigi Palumbo

    (Bank of Italy)

Abstract

This study leverages web-scraped daily data to evaluate the impact of the economic sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on consumer prices and product availability across different goods categories in Russia. We find that international sanctions significantly disrupted Russian price dynamics, with the exchange rate serving as the primary transmission mechanism. Utilizing granular online data allows us to circumvent potential misreporting and to track real-time economic indicators at a high frequency. Our analysis uncovers heterogeneous effects across product groups, with sanctions associated with an average increase of 11.7 percentage points in the Russian CPI. The results highlight how trade policies and geopolitical events can rapidly propagate through retail markets, underscoring the importance of timely price monitoring during periods of economic turbulence. More broadly, we demonstrate the value of online data for evaluating policy shocks, paving the way for similar applications in other contexts.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathan Benchimol & Luigi Palumbo, 2024. "Sanctions and Russian online prices," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1462, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_1462_24
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    File URL: https://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/temi-discussione/2024/2024-1462/en_tema_1462.pdf
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    political economy; online prices; product availability; sanctions; conflict; Russia; Ukraine;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • F13 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
    • F38 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Financial Policy: Financial Transactions Tax; Capital Controls
    • F51 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Conflicts; Negotiations; Sanctions

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