Do Imported Commodities Cause Inflation in China? An Armington Substitution Elasticity Analysis

Based on the perspective of Armington substitution elasticity, this article researches the price transmission effect of China’s imported commodities. First, this article focuses on the theory of Armington substitution elasticity of nonhomogeneous products and then estimates the overall level of Armington substitution elasticity of China’s imported commodities. Second, this article studies the fluctuation trend in Armington substitution elasticity’s estimations using a state space model. The results of this article indicate that the value of Armington substitution elasticity of China’s imported commodities is negative and decreased significantly after the international financial crisis, which means that the relationship between China’s imported commodities and domestic products is complementary rather than substitutional. Moreover, this article finds evidence of the price transmission effect in China’s imported commodities. However, this effect is not obvious and weakened after the international financial crisis. Finally, we conclude that, if it wishes to prevent serious inflationary problems in China, the Chinese government should pay attention to the price of domestic products instead of focusing on the hazards of imported inflation (deflation).