Sobre a mensuração dos salários reais em alta inflação

Abstract

High inflation makes measured earnings very sensitive to timing assumptions adopted in deflating procedures, This paper analyses two timing problems: First, it uses available payments period information to deflate earnings at the time they are paid. Second, the paper evaluates the size of inflationary losses incurred in the interval between earnings are paid and spend. All the empirical analysis is done with household data from the main Brazilian metropolitan regions (PME, POF and Abecip). The paper evaluates the size of the bias induced by inflation in nominal wage differentials between working classes that follow different payments modes. To fix this bias, the paper proposes timing adjustments in earnings deflating procedures that take into account available payments periods information. The paper also looks at the mechanisms through which individuals avoid the inflation tax and finds a pronounced regressivity of inflation tax losses. The paper argues that information on the durability of goods consumed, on the means of payments used in goods purchases and on the short run financial assets used as store of value can improve living standards' estimates in high inflationary economies.