Harmonization of consumer price indexes of the countries of the MERCOSUL and Chile: technical report: results 1999-2004
Harmonization of consumer price indexes of the countries of the MERCOSUL and Chile: technical report: results 1999-2004
The present context of expansion of the integration of countries in blocks and the narrowing of bonds between the economies show the necessity of construction of instruments to subsidize the coordination of macroeconomic policies, since the decisions adopted by one country may affect significantly the other members of the block.
Observing the importance of the Index of Consumer Price - ICP in the short-term economic follow-up and, especially in the sub-regional integration process, the institutions of the member countries of the MERCOSUL and Chile, with the technical counsel of the European Union and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean - CEPAL, developed a methodological study to guide the construction, in each country, of the Harmonized Index of Consumer Price - HICP.
This publication presents the procedures and concepts applied in the calculation of the HICPs, as well as the time series of the corresponding indexes of the period 1999-2004. The results contribute for the improvement of the comparative analysis of inflation between the countries, and constitute an important landmark in the consolidation of an integrated statistical system for the countries of the region.