An exemplary application of the BBRS's regionalized price level data to income distribution from 2005 to 2008 and a documentation of different price level time series for united Germany
Abstract
"The current calculations of the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR - Bundesinstitut für Bau-, Stadt- und Raumforschung) for regional price levels within the Federal Republic of Germany are the most recent, but not the only statistics of their kind. This paper presents data calculated by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin - Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung) immediately after reunification and during the 1990s on the purchasing power parity between East and West Germany. It will be shown that these calculations are to a large extent compatible with the calculations of the BBSR. Notably, the results of both approaches deviate significantly from the assumption of the German Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt) that since 1999 there exists only one unitary price level in East and West Germany. As an example of the implications of these different approaches, the regional price differences, as estimated by the BBSR, are used to analyze the distribution of income in Germany. The result of this approach indicates a stronger convergence of the relatively poorer East and relatively richer West in terms of disposable income as it was the case in earlier estimations. However, this result implies no change in the fundamental trend observed over the previous years. For the purpose of future calculations of the distribution of income in Germany, the systematic calculation and incorporation of regional price differences seems nonetheless desirable." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
Cite article
Goebel, J., Krause, P., Frick, J., Grabka, M. & Wagner, G. (2010): Eine exemplarische Anwendung der regionalisierten Preisniveau-Daten des BBSR auf die Einkommensverteilung für die Jahre 2005 bis 2008 - zugleich eine Dokumentation verschiedener Preisniveau-Zeitreihen für das vereinigte Deutschland. In: J. Möller, E. Hohmann & D. Huschka (Hrsg.) (2010): Der weiße Fleck - zur Konzeption und Machbarkeit regionaler Preisindizes (IAB-Bibliothek, 324), p. 419-443.