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1999•Journal of Business and Economic StatisticsRequires access

An Overview of Experimental U.S. Consumer Price Indexes

Brent R. Moulton, Kenneth J. Stewart

Open publisher page 27 citations

Abstract

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) has come under intense scrutiny in recent years. To help assess potential differences between what the CPI measures and how it is used for various purposes, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has created a series of experimental price indexes. This article contrasts how the CPI is currently constructed with those experimental indexes. Specifically, experimental CPPs have been constructed for two population groups, older Americans and poor Americans. In addition, experimental geometric-mean and superlative indexes have been developed that move the CPI away from its traditional “fixed-market-basket” concept.

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What this paper is about

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) has come under intense scrutiny in recent years. To help assess potential differences between what the CPI measures and how it is used for various purposes, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has created a series of experimental price indexes. This article contrasts how the CPI is currently constructed with those experimental indexes. Specifically, experimental CPPs have been constructed for two population groups, older Americans and poor Americans. In addition, experimental geometric-mean and superlative indexes have been developed that move the CPI away from its traditional “fixed-market-basket” concept.

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OpenAlex reports 27 citations for this work. Citation counts describe recorded attention and do not establish research quality.

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Available abstract

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) has come under intense scrutiny in recent years. To help assess potential differences between what the CPI measures and how it is used for various purposes, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has created a series of experimental price indexes. This article contrasts how the CPI is currently constructed with those experimental indexes. Specifically, experimental CPPs have been constructed for two population groups, older Americans and poor Americans. In addition, experimental geometric-mean and superlative indexes have been developed that move the CPI away from its traditional “fixed-market-basket” concept.

Key concepts: Superlative, Consumer price index (South Africa), Price index, Econometrics, Scrutiny, Economics, Index (typography), Inflation (cosmology)

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