Women perceive prices rising faster than men, says ECB

WOMEN believe prices rise faster than men as they do most of the shopping and prefer “round numbers”, according to the European Central Bank.

The central bank, which said its research was designed to challenge stereotypes, said men cared more about house prices, cars and other transport costs, while women worried more about the weekly food shop.

“The predominant role of perceived food inflation holds for both women and men but is especially true for women,” the ECB said.

It added that the gap in expectations between the sexes was so large that women believed price rises were a percentage point higher than men. It also said inflation perceptions differed by age, referring to a separate ECB paper that stated: “Older respondents form their expectations when using insights of a whole lifetime, which makes them less perceptive to current rates.”

The ECB said women were “more likely to report round numbers in their inflation expectations” as they were “more uncertain” about how fast prices were rising. “Women are more likely than men to report multiples of 10 or of five, whereas men are more likely to report either single non-rounded digits or even decimal places,” the blog said.