Did it 'Really' Happen? Cost of Living Inequality in Argentina, 2004-2018

Gülşah Adam

Prague Economic Papers, 2025, vol. 2025, issue 3, 378-407

Abstract: Measures of inequality typically rely on price indices formulated for a representative consumer, falsely assuming an identical consumption basket across households within the country. However, consumption patterns differ across households; hence, the changes in price levels might have different impacts on households at different points in the income distribution. To challenge this prevailing assumption and gain a more accurate comprehension of income inequality in Argentina from 2004 to 2018, I constructed income level-specific cost of living indices using the Argentinian Household Expenditure Survey. The results demonstrated that from 2004 to 2012, the poor experienced a higher increase in the cost of living compared to the richest group. Conversely, between 2012 and 2018, price changes displayed anti-rich behaviour. Considering the cost of living index differentials in the Gini coefficient calculations highlights that the price movements had an inegalitarian bias between 2004 and 2012, whereas the trend reversed in the 2012-2018 period.

Keywords: cost of living inequality; Gini coefficient; Argentina; QUAIDS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C81 D63 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.894

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