On Insee’s blog post ‘Yes, Insee does take housing into account in inflation!’

Au sujet du Blog de l’Insee « Mais si, l’Insee prend bien en compte le logement dans l’inflation ! »

François Geerolf ()
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François Geerolf: UCLA - University of California [Los Angeles] - UC - University of California, OFCE - Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po, ECON - Département d'économie (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research

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Abstract: This article critically examines the response published by Insee regarding the treatment of housing in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). It shows that the exclusion of owner-occupied housing from the CPI is neither an uncontested international standard nor a neutral choice. In France, this convention significantly reduces the weight of housing in the index and may lead to an underestimation of inflation, particularly in a context of sharply rising rents. The article also highlights the methodological limitations of the current measurement of rents in France and calls for a transparent debate on statistical conventions, given their implications for the assessment of purchasing power and the credibility of official statistics.

Keywords: national accounts; statistical methodology; official statistics; purchasing power; price measurement; owner-occupied housing; imputed rents; rents; housing; CPI; consumer price index; inflation; comptabilité nationale; méthodologie statistique; statistiques publiques; pouvoir d’achat; mesure des prix; propriétaires occupants; loyers imputés; loyers; logement; IPC; indice des prix à la consommation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-02-22
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05506014v1
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Published in 2022

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:spmain:hal-05506014

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