Year: 2003
Type: article
Abstract: Four sources of bias in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) have been identified. The most discussed is substitution bias, which creates a second order bias in the CPI. Three other changes besides prices changes create first order effects on a correctly measured cost of living index (COLI). I explain in this paper that a “pure price” based approach of surveying prices to estimate a COLI cannot succeed in solving the 3 problems of first order bias. I discuss economic and econometric approaches to measuring the first order bias effects as well as the availability of scanner data that would permit implementation of the techniques.
Author: Jerry Hausman
Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Language: English
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2066944004