The existence of nominal rigidities and inflation differentials between countries offers two of the main rationales for … an inflation buffer in a monetary union where monetary policy is oriented towards an area-wide inflation objective … strong argument for a positive inflation buffer to “grease the wheels” of the euro area economy – also in order to avoid the …

inflation can be improved by aggregating forecasts of subindices of the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) as opposed to … distinguishes between different forecast horizons, HICP components and inflation measures. Various model selection procedures are … component does not necessarily help forecast year-on-year inflation twelve months ahead …

well as the improvements made to this measure of inflation since 2003 – finds that the HICP continues to fulfil the … replacement and quality adjustment. Such measures may also help reduce the measurement bias that still exists in the HICP. Overall …, a knowledge gap concerning the exact size of the measurement bias of the HICP remains, which calls for further research …