Domestic inflation decomposition in a small open economy: Evidence from import price dynamics in Kazakhstan

Abstract

This paper empirically analyzes the key drivers of inflation in Kazakhstan by differentiating between demand and supply-driven factors contributing to headline inflation. Given that Kazakhstan is highly sensitive to adverse external fluctuations (due to its economic structure), our empirical strategy investigates asymmetric dynamics of prices of goods with high versus low degree of import share. Hence, we develop a methodology to determine the level of “importability” in certain consumption products, which serves as a proxy of vulnerability to external macroeconomic shocks. The results confirm our hypothesis that products with different degree of import content respond differently to major macroeconomic shocks. Consequently, we conclude that headline inflation in Kazakhstan is primarily impacted by supply-side factors, such as the direct transmission of exchange rate changes to prices of products with higher import shares (exchange rate pass-through) and a large component of inflation inertia. Differentiating and properly identifying inflation dynamics of the high-import-content and low-import-content goods have important implications for optimal monetary policy conduct in developing economies.