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Using the Press to Construct a New Indicator of Inflation Perceptions in France

Author

Listed:
  • Olivier De Bandt
  • Jean-Charles Bricongne
  • Julien Denes
  • Alexandre Dhenin
  • Annabelle De Gaye
  • Pierre-Antoine Robert

Abstract

The paper applies Natural Language Processing techniques (NLP) to the quasi-universe of newspaper articles for France, concentrating on the period 2004-2022, in order to measure inflation attention as well as perceptions by households and firms for that country. The indicator, constructed along the lines of a balance of opinions, is well correlated with actual HICP inflation. It also exhibits good forecasting properties for the European Commission survey on households’ inflation expectations, as well as overall HICP inflation. The method used is a supervised approach that we describe step-by-step. It performs better on our data than the Latent-Dirichlet-Allocation (LDA)-based approach of Angelico et al. (2022). The indicator can be used as an early real-time indicator of future inflation developments and expectations. It also provides a new set of indicators at a time when central banks monitor inflation through new types of surveys of households and firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Olivier De Bandt & Jean-Charles Bricongne & Julien Denes & Alexandre Dhenin & Annabelle De Gaye & Pierre-Antoine Robert, 2023. "Using the Press to Construct a New Indicator of Inflation Perceptions in France," Working papers 921, Banque de France.
    • Handle: RePEc:bfr:banfra:921
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inflation; Natural Language Processing; Households and Firms; Expectations; Machine Learning;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C53 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Forecasting and Prediction Models; Simulation Methods
    • C55 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Large Data Sets: Modeling and Analysis
    • D84 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Expectations; Speculations
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies

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