Prices, Engel Curves, and Time-Space Deflation : Impacts on Poverty and Inequality in Vietnam

Gibson, John ; Le, Trinh ; Kim, Bonggeun

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank

关键词: ENGEL CURVE;    INFLATION;    PRICES;    POVERTY;    INEQUALITY;   

DOI  :  10.1093/wber/lhv082

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Many developing countries lack spatially disaggregated price data. Some analysts use “no-price” methods by using a food Engel curve to derive the deflator as that needed for nominally similar households to have equal food shares in all regions and time periods. This method cannot be tested in countries where it is used as a spatial deflator since they lack suitable price data. In this paper, data from Vietnam are used to test this method against benchmarks provided by multilateral price indexes calculated from repeated spatial price surveys. Deflators from a food Engel curve appear to be a poor proxy for deflators obtained from multilateral price indexes. To the extent that such price indexes reliably compare real living standards over time and space, these results suggest that estimates of the level, location, and change in poverty and inequality would be distorted if the Engel method deflator was used in their stead.