Inflation and Its Uncertainty: Evidence from Indonesia and the Philippines

Abstract

This article investigates the relationship between inflation and its uncertainty under the inflation-targeting regime in Indonesia and the Philippines over 2005(7)–2021(12). The Kernel density function and entropy index applications reveal that the price level in both countries is heterogeneous. The non-linear quantile regression estimation shows that inflation affects inflation uncertainty positively. Inflation more likely induces its uncertainty in higher quantiles. The effect exhibits an inconsistent linearity property. While the symmetric behavior holds in the Philippines, inflation in the case of Indonesia affects the inflation uncertainty differently, not only inter-quantiles but also intra-quantiles. Given that Indonesia and the Philippines have low inflation rates relative to other emerging markets, our findings suggest that announcing higher inflation targets may be costly to provoke higher inflation uncertainty. Accordingly, controlling inflation uncertainty in the inflation-targeting regime can be achieved if monetary policy is credible and independent. JEL Classification C14, C21, D08, E31, O23