Cu\'anto es demasiada inflaci\'on? Una clasificaci\'on de reg\'imenes inflacionarios

Abstract

The classifications of inflationary regimes proposed in the literature have mostly been based on arbitrary characterizations, subject to value judgments by researchers. The objective of this study is to propose a new methodological approach that reduces subjectivity and improves accuracy in the construction of such regimes. The method is built upon a combination of clustering techniques and classification trees, which allows for an historical periodization of Argentina's inflationary history for the period 1943-2022. Additionally, two procedures are introduced to smooth out the classification over time: a measure of temporal contiguity of observations and a rolling method based on the simple majority rule. The obtained regimes are compared against the existing literature on the inflation-relative price variability relationship, revealing a better performance of the proposed regimes.