Weakness in Italy�s core inflation and the Phillips curve: the role of labour and financial indicators

Antonio Conti () and Concetta Gigante ()
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Concetta Gigante: University of Exeter

No 466, Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) from Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area

Abstract: We investigate the dynamics of core inflation in Italy, with a special focus on the period of low inflation after 2014, through the lenses of a Phillips curve framework. Composite indicators of the Italian labour and financial market are constructed and included into a Phillips curve. A number of results emerges from the empirical analysis. First, a statistically significant trade-off between core inflation and economic activity is observed, especially when measures of slack are derived from labour market variables. Second, financial indicators can help to better characterize the dynamics of core inflation. Third, when controlling for financial indicators the slope of the Phillips curve turns out to be smaller, except for the case in which it is measured by the measure of slack based on broad labour market conditions. Fourth, a steepening in the Phillips curve emerges in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, while a stabilization is evident at the end of the sample. Fifth, non-linear techniques suggest that weakness in core inflation may be dependent on the level of labour market tightness and of trend inflation especially. These findings have non-negligible implications for modeling and forecasting inflation dynamics in Italy.

Keywords: low inflation; Phillips curve; labour markets; financial stress; time variation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C32 E32 E50 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eec and nep-mac
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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