Is inflation persistence different in reality?

Abstract

This study examines the inflation persistence using both online and official price indexes in Argentina, Brazil, China, Japan, Germany, South Africa, the UK and the US, using fractional integration technique. The main results suggest that the degree of persistence, estimated by the long-memory parameter, is smaller when using online price indexes (believed to be a more realistic measure of inflation), mainly in the cases of Argentina, Brazil, China and the UK. Monetary policy implications are discussed.