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‘Hanke’s inflation calculations not accepted by many’

08 Jul 2022

  • CBSL Governor refutes Hanke’s claims that official inflation rates are incorrect
  • Assures ‘internationally accepted’ standards being used to calculate rates locally
  • John Hopkins University Professor claims SL inflation rates are ‘wrong’
  • Official May inflation rate 54.6%, whereas Hanke estimates 113.16%
By Imesh Ranasinghe  Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said that Sri Lanka uses internationally accepted standards in measuring its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and inflation numbers, refuting claims by economist and John Hopkins University Professor of Applied Economics Steve Hanke that the country’s inflation numbers are wrong. “Individuals can measure inflation in different ways; I don’t think the way in which Prof. Hanke measures inflation is accepted by many, because the method he uses is not explicitly mentioned,” Dr. Weerasinghe said yesterday (7). In a post on Twitter yesterday, Prof. Hanke stated: “The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has released inflation numbers for May. It claims that annual inflation in Sri Lanka is 54.6% year-on-year. Wrong! Today, I accurately measure annual inflation to be 113.16% year-on-year, more than two times the official rate.” Hanke has been urging Sri Lanka to install a currency board, similar to the one it had between 1884-1950, to end inflation. However, Dr. Weerasinghe said that if the inflation numbers by Prof. Hanke are not universally accepted, then any recommendations based on these are difficult to accept. Prof. Hanke has also accused Pakistan’s Bureau of Statistics of releasing false inflation statistics for June 2022, as he claims the actual inflation statistics are double the official numbers released by the Pakistan Government.    


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