期刊名称：DIW Diskussionspapiere / Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Berlin
出版年度：2007
卷号：2007
出版社：Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Berlin
摘要：We investigate price index convergence on the base of regional data for 439
German districts. Prices refer to the overall consumer price index as well as to
the index without housing prices. To increase the efficiency of the testing
framework, a panel unit root analysis is performed, where cross section
dependencies are taken into account. The tests indicate a lack of regional price
convergence. While the idiosyncratic component of price differentials is mostly
stationary, their common component is driven by a unit root. The results are
very similar for the overall price index and the index without housing prices,
and for the Western and Eastern part of the German economy. Obviously the
elimination of housing prices is not sufficient to obtain a price index where
tradable products dominate. One rationale of our findings is the persistent
west-east divide in consumer prices. A second argument is related to the
persistence of the price gradient between urban and rural regions.
关键词：Regional price differentials, price convergence, panel unit roots
