Overview of the 1998 revision of the Consumer Price Index

Monthly Labor Review

Volumn 119, Issue 12, 1996, Pages 3-9

  Greenlees, John S ^a   Mason, Charles C ^a  

^a BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0007833583     PISSN: 00981818     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Review

References (24)

1. Office of Management and Budget estimate, as reported in BLS budget documents.
2. Handbook of Methods, Bulletin 2285 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1988) "Chapter 19. The Consumer Price Index."
3. For a description of the construction of, and recent movements in, the CPI-E, see Kenneth Stewart and Joseph Pavalone, "Experimental CPI for Americans 62 years of age and older," CPI Detailed Report, April 1996.
4. Theoretical and empirical comparisons of the geometric mean formula to the arithmetic mean formula used in the CPI are presented in Brent Moulton and Karin Smedley, "A Comparison of Estimators for Elementary Aggregates of the CPI," Bureau of Labor Statistics Working Paper, June 1995.
5. For general reviews of these issues see, for example, Dennis Fixler, "The Consumer Price Index: underlying concepts and caveats," Monthly Labor Review, December 1993, pp. 3-12; Is the Growth of the CPI a Biased Measure of Changes in the Cost of Living? (Congressional Budget Office, October 1994); Report for the House Budget Committee (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1995); Matthew Shapiro and David Wilcox, "Mismeasurement in the Consumer Price Index; An Evaluation," NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1996 (Cambridge, MA, National Bureau of Economic Research, forthcoming); and Brent R. Moulton, "Bias in the Consumer Price Index: What is the Evidence?" Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall 1996, pp. 159-77.
6. For general reviews of these issues see, for example, Dennis Fixler, "The Consumer Price Index: underlying concepts and caveats," Monthly Labor Review, December 1993, pp. 3-12; Is the Growth of the CPI a Biased Measure of Changes in the Cost of Living? (Congressional Budget Office, October 1994); Report for the House Budget Committee (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1995); Matthew Shapiro and David Wilcox, "Mismeasurement in the Consumer Price Index; An Evaluation," NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1996 (Cambridge, MA, National Bureau of Economic Research, forthcoming); and Brent R. Moulton, "Bias in the Consumer Price Index: What is the Evidence?" Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall 1996, pp. 159-77.
7. For general reviews of these issues see, for example, Dennis Fixler, "The Consumer Price Index: underlying concepts and caveats," Monthly Labor Review, December 1993, pp. 3-12; Is the Growth of the CPI a Biased Measure of Changes in the Cost of Living? (Congressional Budget Office, October 1994); Report for the House Budget Committee (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1995); Matthew Shapiro and David Wilcox, "Mismeasurement in the Consumer Price Index; An Evaluation," NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1996 (Cambridge, MA, National Bureau of Economic Research, forthcoming); and Brent R. Moulton, "Bias in the Consumer Price Index: What is the Evidence?" Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall 1996, pp. 159-77.
8. For general reviews of these issues see, for example, Dennis Fixler, "The Consumer Price Index: underlying concepts and caveats," Monthly Labor Review, December 1993, pp. 3-12; Is the Growth of the CPI a Biased Measure of Changes in the Cost of Living? (Congressional Budget Office, October 1994); Report for the House Budget Committee (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1995); Matthew Shapiro and David Wilcox, "Mismeasurement in the Consumer Price Index; An Evaluation," NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1996 (Cambridge, MA, National Bureau of Economic Research, forthcoming); and Brent R. Moulton, "Bias in the Consumer Price Index: What is the Evidence?" Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall 1996, pp. 159-77.
9. See Consumer Price Index, Hearings before the Committee on Finance, U.S. Senate, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1995; and Toward a More Accurate Measure of the Cost of Living, Final Report to the Senate Finance Committee from the Advisory Commission to Study the Consumer Price Index, December 4, 1996.
10. See Consumer Price Index, Hearings before the Committee on Finance, U.S. Senate, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1995; and Toward a More Accurate Measure of the Cost of Living, Final Report to the Senate Finance Committee from the Advisory Commission to Study the Consumer Price Index, December 4, 1996.
11. For details on these changes, see Steve Henderson and Karin Smedley, "Improvements in estimating the shelter indexes in the CPI,". CPI Detailed Report, October 1994, pp. 5-6; Ken Stewart, "Improving CPI sample rotation procedures," CPI Detailed Report, October 1994, pp. 7-8; Ken Stewart, "Extending the improvement in CPI sample rotation procedures," CPI Detailed Report, June 1996, pp. 9-10; and Kenneth J. Stewart, "Improving CPI item substitution procedures," CPI Detailed Report, July 1996, pp. 8-9.
12. For details on these changes, see Steve Henderson and Karin Smedley, "Improvements in estimating the shelter indexes in the CPI,". CPI Detailed Report, October 1994, pp. 5-6; Ken Stewart, "Improving CPI sample rotation procedures," CPI Detailed Report, October 1994, pp. 7-8; Ken Stewart, "Extending the improvement in CPI sample rotation procedures," CPI Detailed Report, June 1996, pp. 9-10; and Kenneth J. Stewart, "Improving CPI item substitution procedures," CPI Detailed Report, July 1996, pp. 8-9.
13. For details on these changes, see Steve Henderson and Karin Smedley, "Improvements in estimating the shelter indexes in the CPI,". CPI Detailed Report, October 1994, pp. 5-6; Ken Stewart, "Improving CPI sample rotation procedures," CPI Detailed Report, October 1994, pp. 7-8; Ken Stewart, "Extending the improvement in CPI sample rotation procedures," CPI Detailed Report, June 1996, pp. 9-10; and Kenneth J. Stewart, "Improving CPI item substitution procedures," CPI Detailed Report, July 1996, pp. 8-9.
14. For details on these changes, see Steve Henderson and Karin Smedley, "Improvements in estimating the shelter indexes in the CPI,". CPI Detailed Report, October 1994, pp. 5-6; Ken Stewart, "Improving CPI sample rotation procedures," CPI Detailed Report, October 1994, pp. 7-8; Ken Stewart, "Extending the improvement in CPI sample rotation procedures," CPI Detailed Report, June 1996, pp. 9-10; and Kenneth J. Stewart, "Improving CPI item substitution procedures," CPI Detailed Report, July 1996, pp. 8-9.
15. See, for example, Ana Aizcorbe and Patrick Jackman, "The commodity substitution effect in CPI data, 1982-91," Monthly Labor Review, December 1993, pp. 25-33.
16. The Consumer Price Index: History and Techniques, Bulletin 1517 (Bureau of Labor Statistics), p. 2; and The First Hundred Years of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 1985) pp. 94-97.
17. The Consumer Price Index: History and Techniques, Bulletin 1517 (Bureau of Labor Statistics), p. 2; and The First Hundred Years of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 1985) pp. 94-97.
18. Handbook of Methods, Bulletin 2285 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1992), p. 154.
19. Sidney Jaffe, "The Consumer Price Index - Technical Questions and Practical Answers," Paper presented to the American Statistical Association, Dec. 30, 1959.
20. John Marcoot, "Revision of Consumer Price Index is now underway," Monthly Labor Review, April 1985, p. 28.
21. Government Price Statistics, U.S. Congress, Joint Economic Committee, 87th Cong., 1st Sess., January 24, 1961.
22. The rolling-in approach effected significant cost and time savings. Rolling-in the new areas into the CPI allowed more time to train field representatives. More importantly, using the existing procedures for introducing new outlet samples on a systematic basis precluded the need to maintain dual operations, one for the current CPI and one for the revised index.
23. Marcoot, "Revision of Consumer Price Index."
24. S.G. Leaver, W. H. Johnson, R.M. Baskin, S. Scarlett, and R. Morse, "Commodities and Services Sample Redesign for the 1998 Consumer Price Index Revision," Proceedings of the Survey Research Methods Section, American Statistical Association, forthcoming.