The cyclical behaviour of prices: G-7 versus non-G7 countries

Abstract

The cyclical behaviour of prices and inflation is investigated for G-7 and seven non-G7 countries for the postwar period. The quarterly prices are shown to be clearly countercyclical in the G-7 countries, while they are much less so in the non-G7 countries. Inflation is shown to move procyclically and this is more clearly pronounced in the G-7 than non-G7 countries. This discrepancy in results may result from the demand-management policies that these non-G7 countries have adopted in the past and this cautions the students of business cycles to pay attention to the peculiarities of each economy when modelling the business cycle.