deflátort

The deflátort, or deflator, is a price index used in macroeconomics and national accounting to convert nominal measurements into real terms by removing the effects of price changes. It provides a way to compare values across time without the distortion of inflation, typically using a base year in which the index is set to a standard level such as 100.

Two common forms of deflators are the GDP deflator and the consumer or expenditure-based deflator. The GDP deflator measures price changes for all goods and services included in a country's gross domestic product, reflecting the broad structure of the domestic economy. The consumer price deflator, often represented by the consumer price index (CPI) or its variants, focuses on a fixed basket of goods and services bought by households. In practice, different deflators may be used for specific sectors or aggregates, and some are chain-weighted to better capture changing quantities and substitution patterns.

Calculation and interpretation follow a simple principle. Real value = Nominal value divided by the deflator (often expressed as deflator divided by 100). For the GDP deflator, Deflator = (Nominal GDP / Real GDP) × 100. A rise in the deflator indicates inflation, while a fall indicates deflation or disinflation. Deflators are essential for assessing real growth, price level changes, and cross-temporal comparisons, and they underpin many policy analyses and economic indicators.

Limitations and considerations include methodological differences across countries, base-year effects, coverage, and the treatment of quality changes. Deflators provide a macro view of price movements and are not perfect substitutes for more granular price measures. See also GDP deflator, CPI deflator, and PCE deflator for related concepts.