Online and Official Price Indexes: Measuring Argentina’s Inflation

Cavallo, Alberto

doi:10.2139/ssrn.1906704

Abstract

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Online and Official Price Indexes: Measuring Argentina’s Inflation

Alberto Cavallo

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management

February 27, 2012

MIT Sloan Research Paper No. 4975-12

Abstract:
Prices collected from online retailers can be used to construct high-frequency price indexes that complement official statistics. This paper studies their ability to match official inflation estimates in five Latin American countries, with a focus on Argentina, where official statistics have been criticized in recent years. The data were collected between October 2007 and March 2011 from the largest online supermarkets in each of these countries. Online price indexes approximate both the level and main dynamics of official inflation in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Venezuela. By contrast, Argentina’s online annual inflation rate is consistently two to three times higher than in official estimates.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 39

Keywords: Argentina, inflation, scraped online data, online price index

JEL Classification: E31

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Date posted: May 2, 2012 ; Last revised: November 5, 2012

Suggested Citation

Cavallo, Alberto, Online and Official Price Indexes: Measuring Argentina’s Inflation (February 27, 2012). MIT Sloan Research Paper No. 4975-12. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1906704 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1906704

Contact Information

Alberto Cavallo (Contact Author)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management ( email )

77 Massachusetts Ave.
E62-369
Cambridge, MA 02142
United States