Statistika: Statistics and Economy Journal (Dec 2012)
Regional Price Levels in the Czech Republic NUTS 3 Regions
Abstract
Comparison of Czech regions is almost always based on nominal indicators, i.e. an assumption of the same pricelevels is included in the analysis, though it is obvious that this assumption is quite strong or even not fulfilled. Resultsof such an analysis could be seriously affected and simultaneously lead to misinterpretation. The aim of this paperis to estimate regional price levels in the Czech Republic NUTS 3 regions and to estimate their impact on regional macro-aggregates such as the net disposable income. Eurostat uses for this issue the methodology introduced in the common OECD and Eurostat Manual on purchasing power parities (PPP) resulting in purchasing power standard(PPS) estimation at international level. From the theoretical point of view PPS could be estimated also at the regional level, i.e. each region would be considered as an “independent unit”. In practice, in most EU countries the problem with poor regional data availability arises. The official methodology is used in this paper with several modifications described. Finally macro indicators adjusted to regional price levels are compared with the “original” data.
