Perceived Inflation in Germany in 2022

The starting point of the paper is the question of the current level of perceived inflation (by consumers) in Germany and the (quantitative) difference between perceived inflation and officially measured inflation This paper shows that there is a very large difference between the official measured inflation rate and perceived inflation in Germany. While the inflation rate in Germany was 10.0% in September 2022 and 10.4% in October, a nationwide ad-hoc consumer survey revealed that respondents perceived inflation to be 34.15%. At the same time, the paper provides an explanatory approach to explain the perceived inflation using regression models. It becomes clear that all independent variables are highly significant and provide an explanatory contribution. It also shows that higher inflation concerns lead to a higher estimate of perceived inflation.