David Wittekopf
- 17 July 2023
- OCCASIONAL PAPER SERIES - No. 320Details
- Abstract
- E-commerce has become more prevalent throughout Europe in the last decade. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic accelerated this trend, particularly in the retail sector. This paper focuses on the implications of increasing business-to-consumer e-commerce for prices and inflation in the euro area. It highlights three key results. First, whether online prices and inflation are higher or lower than their offline counterparts depends on the distribution model, the sector and the country. Moreover, properly selected online prices track official inflation indices even in real time. Second, the effect of e-commerce on inflation appears to be transient and differs between countries. However, as the penetration of some markets is still low, these transitory effects will likely persist at the euro area level for several years. Third, online prices change more frequently than offline prices. This might lead to greater price flexibility overall as online trade gains market share in a growing number of sectors.
- JEL Code
- D4 : Microeconomics→Market Structure and Pricing
E31 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Price Level, Inflation, Deflation
L11 : Industrial Organization→Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance→Production, Pricing, and Market Structure, Size Distribution of Firms
- 28 April 2022
- ECONOMIC BULLETIN - BOXEconomic Bulletin Issue 3, 2022Details
- Abstract
- Minimum wages are prevalent in many euro area countries. Since 2008 minimum wages in the euro area have tended, on average, to grow at a similar pace to wages and salaries per employee. However, minimum wage growth can also significantly deviate from growth in wages and salaries in some years. Minimum wages are expected to grow at a substantially stronger pace than wages and salaries in many euro area countries in 2022 and 2023 – leading to a stronger than usual upward impact of minimum wages on euro area wage growth while the absolute direct mechanical impact on wage growth in the euro area is likely to remain contained.
- JEL Code
- E24 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy→Employment, Unemployment, Wages, Intergenerational Income Distribution, Aggregate Human Capital
J3 : Labor and Demographic Economics→Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
E31 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Price Level, Inflation, Deflation
- 16 February 2022
- ECONOMIC BULLETIN - BOXEconomic Bulletin Issue 1, 2022Details
- Abstract
- A recurring theme in the “ECB Listens” event conducted in the context of the monetary policy strategy review was the affordability of housing and the case for including related costs more adequately in the HICP. Housing costs can be analysed on the basis of different sources of data. This box reviews perceptions of housing costs among tenants and homeowners based on survey microdata, compares them with developments in housing costs based on macro price statistics, and highlights conceptual differences between the various measures that are important in the interpretation of the data.
- JEL Code
- R21 : Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics→Household Analysis→Housing Demand
R31 : Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics→Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location→Housing Supply and Markets
E31 : Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics→Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles→Price Level, Inflation, Deflation