A Multivariate Analysis of the Impact of COVID-19 on the Consumer Price Index by Category in Selected Major Developed Countries

The global COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted economies worldwide, leading to varied inflationary trends across different countries and consumer sectors. This study investigates the changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) across 12 expenditure categories including food, beverages, clothing, housing, furnishing, health, transport, communication, recreation, education, restaurants, and miscellaneous in six countries: Canada, the United States, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and France. Using secondary data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) International Financial Statistics Database, a two-way mixed design was employed to explore both within-subjects effects of time period (Pre-COVID-19 vs. Post-COVID-19) and between-subjects effects of country on CPI changes. A two-way mixed MANOVA with a general linear model (GLM) framework was conducted to examine differences in CPI between the pre- and post-COVID-19 periods. Significant effects were found for both country (Wilks’ Lambda = .038, F(60, 2593.26) = 43.75, p < .001, partial η² = .48) and time period (Wilks’ Lambda = .559, F(12, 553) = 36.42, p < .001, partial η² = .44), with substantial interaction effects between country and time period (Wilks’ Lambda = .400, F(60, 2593.26) = 9.34, p < .001, partial η² = .17). Post-hoc analyses using Scheffe tests revealed that Germany and Italy experienced the most pronounced CPI increases in categories such as food and housing, while Canada and France showed more moderate inflationary trends. In contrast, communication CPI declined significantly in Canada while increasing in the United Kingdom