Deflating Swiss prices over the past five centuries

The authors present and compare new time series for calculating the real value of Swiss prices over the past five centuries. They analyze three different modes of price deflation using wages, consumer price indices (CPIs), and the gross domestic product (GDP), and assess the merits and limitations of each approach. The authors then examine how time series that cover long periods of time are made using Switzerland as a case study and introduce an original CPI for the years 1501-2006. The authors conclude by contrasting the different time series and proposing rough guidelines about their use.