Getting Real about Inequality : Evidence from Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru

Consumption baskets vary across households and inflation rates vary across goods. As a result, standard consumer price index (CPI) inflation may provide a misleading measure of the inflation actually faced by poor households, more so the more unequal the distribution of aggregate consumption across...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Servén, Luis, López, Humberto, Goñi, Edwin
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:	ABSOLUTE VALUE ADMINISTERED PRICES ANNUAL INFLATION AVERAGE ANNUAL AVERAGE CONSUMPTION BASE YEAR BENCHMARK CENTRAL BANK CONSUMER CONSUMER PRICE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX CONSUMER PRICE INDICES CONSUMERS CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE CONSUMPTION GROWTH CONSUMPTION LEVELS CONSUMPTION PATTERNS COST OF LIVING DEVELOPING WORLD DISTRIBUTIONAL IMPACT ECONOMIC STATISTICS ECONOMIC STUDIES EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE EMPIRICAL LITERATURE EMPIRICAL RESULTS EXPENDITURE EXPENDITURES GINI COEFFICIENT GROWTH RATE HIGH INEQUALITY HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE SURVEYS HOUSEHOLD INCOME INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME GROUPS INCOME LEVELS INCREASING FUNCTION INDEXATION INEQUALITY INEQUALITY CHANGES INEQUALITY INDEX INEQUALITY INDICATORS INEQUALITY MEASURES INEQUALITY TRENDS INFLATION INFLATION RATE INFLATION RATES LATIN AMERICAN LIVING ADJUSTMENT MEASUREMENT ERROR MEASUREMENT ERRORS NOMINAL INCOME NOMINAL INCOMES OBSERVED CHANGE OBSERVED CHANGES POLICY RESEARCH POLITICAL ECONOMY POOR HOUSEHOLDS PRICE CHANGES PRICE INCREASE PRICE INDICES PRICE STRUCTURE PRICE TRENDS PUBLIC TRANSFERS REAL INCOME SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES SUBSTITUTE SUBSTITUTES SUBSTITUTION TOTAL CONSUMPTION WAGES
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2006/01/6525971/getting-real-inequality-evidence-brazil-colombia-mexico-peru http://hdl.handle.net/10986/8796

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Summary:	Consumption baskets vary across households and inflation rates vary across goods. As a result, standard consumer price index (CPI) inflation may provide a misleading measure of the inflation actually faced by poor households, more so the more unequal the distribution of aggregate consumption across households. Likewise, changes in observed nominal consumption inequality may be very different from those in true inequality, that is, that measured using household-specific CPIs. The authors explore empirically these issues using household data covering nine episodes from four Latin American countries (Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru). They find that in these countries standard CPI inflation typically reflects the inflation rate faced by a rich consumer located in the 80 to 90 percentile of the distribution of consumption expenditure. In most episodes the authors also find that inflation was anti-rich-that is, the inflation faced by the richest consumers was higher than the inflation faced by the poorest consumers. As a result of this bias, the observed increases in nominal inequality generally exceed the actual changes in real inequality. These results are robust to correcting for quality change bias in the CPI, to the use of alternative price indices, and to the use of alternative inequality measures.

Getting Real about Inequality : Evidence from Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru

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