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Few forecasts are as common in business as forecasts for inflation.
Surveys, time-series methods and structural econometric models are the most frequently used means for making such forecasts. In addition, it may be possible to infer future inflation forecasts from the behavior of financial markets. This study takes representative examples from each genre and makes a systematic comparison of how well they performed in the 1980s and 1990s. The results indicate that there is little difference between structural models and surveys. Thus, cost and other factors may be the major determinants in each firm s choice between structural models and surveys.