The Euro Changeover and Its Effects on Price Transparency and Inflation
构建了一个不完全信息模型，解释为何欧元转换后廉价商品价格涨幅更高，并利用欧盟统计局和经济学人智库的数据证实，转换虽未显著推高通胀，但扭曲了价格结构，且这种效应在民众适应新货币困难的国家更强。
Despite the expectations of economists that the euro changeover would have no effect on prices, European consumers perceived the opposite. To shed some light on this puzzle, we develop a model of imperfect information in which cheaper goods experience higher price growth after the changeover. Retailers, aware of consumers' difficulties in adopting the new currency, use currency changeovers to increase profits by increasing prices. The lower the price transparency after the changeover, the higher the euro‐related inflation. Using data on inflation (Eurostat) and price levels (Economist Intelligence Unit), we show that although the euro changeover did not significantly increase inflation, it nevertheless had a distortionary effect on prices. After the changeover, cheaper goods had higher inflation, and this effect was stronger in countries in which people found dealing with the new currency problematic.