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Price rigidity. Evidence from the French CPI micro-data

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  • Sevestre, Patrick
  • Baudry, Laurent
  • Le Bihan, Hervé
  • Tarrieu, Sylvie

Abstract

Based upon a large fraction of the price records used for computing the French CPI, we document consumer price rigidity in France. We first provide a methodological discussion of issues involved in estimating average price duration with micro-data. The average duration of prices in the sectors covered by the database (65% of CPI) is then found to be around 8 months. A strong heterogeneity across sectors both in the average duration of prices and in the pattern of price setting is reported. There is no clear evidence of downward nominal rigidity, since price cuts are almost as frequent as price rises. Moreover, the average size of a change in price is quite large in both cases. Overall, while our results do not entail a clear conclusion about the existence of menu costs, there is evidence of both time-dependent and state-dependent price setting behaviors by retailers. JEL Classification: E31, D43, L11

Suggested Citation

  • Sevestre, Patrick & Baudry, Laurent & Le Bihan, Hervé & Tarrieu, Sylvie, 2004. "Price rigidity. Evidence from the French CPI micro-data," Working Paper Series 384, European Central Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:2004384
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Peter J. Klenow & Oleksiy Kryvtsov, 2008. "State-Dependent or Time-Dependent Pricing: Does it Matter for Recent U.S. Inflation?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(3), pages 863-904.
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    6. Alexander L. Wolman, 2007. "The frequency and costs of individual price adjustment," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(6), pages 531-552.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    consumer price index; duration of prices; frequency of price change; price stickiness;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms

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