An implicit price deflator (IPD) is obtained by dividing a current price value by its real counterpart (the chain volume measure). When calculated from the major national accounting aggregates such as GDP, IPDs relate to a broader range of goods and service in the economy than that represented by any of the individual price indexes (such as CPIs, PPIs).

Movements in an implicit price deflator reflect both changes in price and changes in the composition of the aggregate for which the deflator is calculated.