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Common and Idiosyncratic Inflation

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Abstract

We use a dynamic factor model to disentangle changes in prices due to economy-wide (common) shocks, from changes in prices due to idiosyncratic shocks. Using 146 disaggregated individual price series from the U.S. PCE price index, we find that most of the fluctuations in core PCE prices observed since 2010 have been idiosyncratic in nature. Moreover, we find that common core inflation responds to economic slack, while the idiosyncratic component does not. That said, even after filtering out idiosyncratic factors, the estimated Phillips curve is extremely flat post-1995. Therefore, our results suggest that the flattening of the Phillips curve is the result of macroeconomic forces.

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  • Matteo Luciani, 2020. "Common and Idiosyncratic Inflation," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2020-024, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2020-24
    DOI: 10.17016/FEDS.2020.024
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    1. Catherine Doz & Domenico Giannone & Lucrezia Reichlin, 2012. "A Quasi–Maximum Likelihood Approach for Large, Approximate Dynamic Factor Models," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(4), pages 1014-1024, November.
    2. Laurence Ball & Sandeep Mazumder, 2020. "The Nonpuzzling Behavior of Median Inflation," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Gonzalo Castex & Jordi Galí & Diego Saravia (ed.),Changing Inflation Dynamics,Evolving Monetary Policy, edition 1, volume 27, chapter 3, pages 049-070, Central Bank of Chile.
    3. Juan Antolin-Diaz & Thomas Drechsel & Ivan Petrella, 2017. "Tracking the Slowdown in Long-Run GDP Growth," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(2), pages 343-356, May.
    4. Jushan Bai & Kunpeng Li, 2016. "Maximum Likelihood Estimation and Inference for Approximate Factor Models of High Dimension," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 98(2), pages 298-309, May.
    5. Jim Dolmas, 2005. "Trimmed mean PCE inflation," Working Papers 0506, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    6. Jushan Bai & Peng Wang, 2015. "Identification and Bayesian Estimation of Dynamic Factor Models," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(2), pages 221-240, April.
    7. Diewert, W Erwin, 1978. "Superlative Index Numbers and Consistency in Aggregation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(4), pages 883-900, July.
    8. Marlene Amstad & Simon M. Potter & Robert W. Rich, 2017. "The New York Fed Staff Underlying Inflation Gauge (UIG)," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, issue 23-2, pages 1-32.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yunjong Eo & Luis Uzeda & Benjamin Wong, 2023. "Understanding trend inflation through the lens of the goods and services sectors," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(5), pages 751-766, August.
    2. Philippe Goulet Coulombe, 2022. "A Neural Phillips Curve and a Deep Output Gap," Working Papers 22-01, Chair in macroeconomics and forecasting, University of Quebec in Montreal's School of Management.
    3. Hie Joo Ahn & Matteo Luciani, 2021. "Relative prices and pure inflation since the mid-1990s," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2021-069, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    4. Barigozzi, Matteo & Hallin, Marc & Luciani, Matteo & Zaffaroni, Paolo, 2024. "Inferential theory for generalized dynamic factor models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 239(2).
    5. Philippe Goulet Coulombe, 2022. "A Neural Phillips Curve and a Deep Output Gap," Papers 2202.04146, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2024.
    6. Cristina Conflitti, 2020. "Alternative measures of underlying inflation in the euro area," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 593, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Core inflation; Dynamic factor model; Disaggregated consumer prices; Monetary policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C32 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes; State Space Models
    • C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation
    • C55 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Large Data Sets: Modeling and Analysis
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E37 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications

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