Synchronicity of global construction cost indexes

• Published in: Engineering, construction, and architectural management Vol. 26; no. 3; pp. 367 - 385
• Main Authors: Zhang, Ruixi, Xing, Jinding, Ye, Kunhui, Lu, Weisheng, Shan, Yongwei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Publishing Limited 03.04.2019; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Architectural engineering; Architecture; Building construction; Business cycles; Construction costs; Construction industry; Contractors; Correlation coefficients; Developing countries; Economic growth; Economics; Engineering; GDP; Globalization; Gross Domestic Product; Houses; International; International trade; LDCs; Prices; Project management; Statistical methods; Time synchronization; Trends; Variance analysis; Workforce; Singapore; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; Japan; Portugal; Mauritius; Spain; Canada; Austria; Netherlands; Turkey; Norway; China; Finland; Denmark; Hong Kong China; Italy; Uganda; Australia; France; Lithuania; Construction; Construction cost index; Vibration; Bidding; Competitiveness; Estimating; International practice; Synchronicity
• ISSN: 0969-9988; 1365-232X
• DOI: 10.1108/ECAM-02-2018-0045

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the features and tendency of cost indices in the global construction setting. Design/methodology/approach Data from 22 countries/regions are collected and analyzed using maximum variance formulation and Kendall rank correlation coefficient. Findings It is found that global construction cost indexes (CCIs) have commonly maintained a steady increase for decades, and the CCIs synchronize with each other. Overall synchronicity and synchronicity of different countries pairs have increased with time significantly. Research limitations/implications The major limitation, however, is the availability of data: only 22 regions/countries are examined, the distribution of these regions/countries is imbalanced between different continents and various indices are adopted around the world, of which statistical methods are not same. Practical implications The implication is that a better perception of CCIs enables contractors to have a robust estimation for bidding prices and to improve the efficiency of construction projects management. The research findings also provide a useful reference for those countries that have not established construction cost indices databases to forecast the tendency of domestic construction industries. Originality/value This paper contributes to the overall body of knowledge by presenting the co-movement of global CCIs and measuring the changes of CCI synchronicity with time and in different countries pairs.