Charting International Labor Comparisons (2012 Edition)
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Section 4: Consumer prices Previous
On This Page
- Chart 4.1 - Measures of consumer price inflation, selected countries, average annual growth rates, 2007–2010 (HTML) (PDF)
- Chart 4.2 - Harmonized indexes of consumer prices, selected countries, average annual growth rates, 2000–2007 and 2007–2010 (HTML) (PDF)
- Chart 4.3 - Gap between manufacturing compensation and consumer price indexes, selected countries, average annual growth rates, 2007–2010 (HTML) (PDF)
- Chart 4.4 - Price of a basket of goods that costs one dollar in the United States, selected countries, 2010 (HTML) (PDF)
- Section 4 Notes - Sources and definitions
Consumer price indexes (CPI) and harmonized indexes of consumer prices (HICP) measure the change over time in the prices paid by consumers for a fixed selection, or market basket, of goods and services. Price indexes are used primarily to adjust income payments for changes in the cost of living and to compute inflation-adjusted measures of other economic series.
- The two inflation rates were identical in 5 countries, and the difference between the two rates was greater than half a percentage point in just 3 out of 23 selected countries.
- The greatest differences between the two inflation rates were in Sweden and Finland. The differing trends reflect differences in the way owner-occupied housing is treated by the HICP and CPI for these countries.
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- Harmonized indexes of consumer prices (HICP) are an internationally comparable measure of consumer price inflation.
- For half the countries shown—particularly Ireland, Slovakia, and Portugal—inflation was slower during the 2007 to 2010 period, when economies worldwide experienced recessionary pressures.
- Eastern European countries generally had the highest rates of inflation during both periods, while prices decreased slightly in Japan.
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- The gap between the growth rates for hourly compensation costs and the consumer price indexes (CPI) indicates the degree to which manufacturing worker compensation has kept up with inflation.
- Compensation growth outpaced inflation in most countries between 2007 and 2010. The compensation-inflation gap was largest in Ireland, Brazil, and Slovakia.
- Compensation growth rates lagged inflation most notably in Hungary, Taiwan, and South Korea.
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- Low prices relative to the United States were found in Southern and Eastern Europe, Latin America, and East Asia. The cheapest basket of goods was in China.
- The price of foreign
goods and services
compared with their price
in the United States is
known as the relative
price. Values less (higher)
than 1 indicate that
prices in that country
are relatively low (high),
compared with the United
- Countries with high relative prices included those in Northern Europe and Western Europe, as well as Australia, Japan, and Canada.
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Section 4 Notes
Consumer price indexes (CPI) and harmonized indexes of consumer prices (HICP) for most countries are from the BLS report International Indexes of Consumer Prices, 18 countries and areas. Data for the remaining countries are based on data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) database OECD.Stat, the European Commission database Eurostat, and national statistical offices (for the Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan).
Each country produces its own consumer price index using unique methods and concepts. For this reason, CPI data are not fully comparable across countries. Differences exist mainly in population coverage, frequency of market basket weight changes, and treatment of homeowner costs.
The HICP is an internationally comparable measure of consumer price inflation. The HICP is the standard price index that European Union member states must produce for comparisons across countries. HICP data for the United States are experimental. Although the HICP series for the United States broadly follows the 