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A Norwegian consumer price index 1819–1913 in a Scandinavian perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2004

OLA H. GRYTTEN
OLA H. GRYTTEN
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, Helleveien 30, N-5045 Bergen, Norway
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Abstract

The present article presents a consumer price index (CPI) for Norway 1819–1913. The CPI is a spliced series of three indices. For the period 1819–1871 a new and original index based on retail prices has been constructed. This new CPI is for the period 1871–1913 spliced with two cost of living indices and thereby stretches up to 1913. Thus, we conclude with a CPI for Norway for most of the nineteenth century and up to World War I.

The CPI reflects the business cycles of the period, with growing prices during upturns and shrinking prices during downturns. The series is compared to corresponding cost of living indices from Denmark and Sweden. We trace high conformity in price movements between the countries. Given the level of economic integration within the Scandinavian Currency Union from the 1870s onwards, this conformity confirms the reliability of the new CPI for Norway.

Type
Research Article
Information
European Review of Economic History , Volume 8 , Issue 1 , April 2004 , pp. 61 - 79
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2004

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