Comparações da paridade do poder de compra entre cidades: aspectos metodológicos e aplicação ao caso brasileiro

Abstract

This paper presents two alternatives for the construction of cost-of-living indexes so as to compare prices simultaneously across different regions. Both methodologies are applied to eleven Brazilian metropolitan areas, and their results are compared, thus allowing for the selection of the most convenient methodology to be utilized in future studies. Besides developing a theoretical discussion, the paper presents and compares two estimates of inter-regional cost of living indexes for those areas in the period 1996-2002.