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Should the Cost-of-Living Index Provide the Conceptual Framework for a Consumer Price Index?

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  • Triplett, Jack E

Abstract

In some countries, the cost-of-living (COL) index serves as the conceptual framework for the CPI, but it has been rejected in others. This paper reviews issues that have arisen in the statistical agency debate and in the economics literature on the COL index, including rhetorical matters which have influenced the debate. I contend that COL theory is useful as a decision-making framework in estimating components of the CPI, and that COL index theory provides appropriate guidance for measuring consumer inflation, contrary to the view that has been adopted for the European HICP and expressed by an advisory committee for the RPI.

Suggested Citation

  • Triplett, Jack E, 2001. "Should the Cost-of-Living Index Provide the Conceptual Framework for a Consumer Price Index?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(472), pages 311-334, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:ecj:econjl:v:111:y:2001:i:472:p:f311-34
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    Cited by:

    1. Redding, Stephen J. & Weinstein, David E., 2016. "A unified approach to estimating demand and welfare," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 67681, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Ingvild Almås & Timothy K.M. Beatty & Thomas F. Crossley, 2018. "Lost in Translation: What do Engel Curves Tell us about the Cost of Living?," CESifo Working Paper Series 6886, CESifo.
    3. Fabrice Etilé & Sébastien Lecocq & Christine Boizot-Szantai, 2021. "Market heterogeneity and the distributional incidence of soft-drink taxes: evidence from France [Regressive sin taxes, with an application to the optimal soda tax]," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 48(4), pages 915-939.
    4. Colm McCarthy, 2007. "Owner-Occupied Housing Costs and Bias in the Irish Consumer Price Index," Working Papers 200707, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    5. Robert J Hill, 2004. "Inflation Measurement for Central Bankers," RBA Annual Conference Volume (Discontinued), in: Christopher Kent & Simon Guttmann (ed.),The Future of Inflation Targeting, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    6. Christina Christou & Juncal Cunado & Rangan Gupta, 2019. "Price Convergence Patterns across U.S. States," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 66(2), pages 187-201.
    7. Jan Hanousek & Randall K. Filer, 2003. "Substitution Biases in Price Indexes during Transition," Development and Comp Systems 0306002, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Gaddis,Isis, 2016. "Prices for poverty analysis in Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7652, The World Bank.
    9. Filer, Randall K. & Hanousek, Jan, 2003. "Inflationary bias in middle to late transition Czech Republic," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 367-376, December.
    10. Gorbunov, Vladimir, 2022. "The positive resolution of the microeconomic problem of market demand: issues of methodology and verification," MPRA Paper 115514, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Stephen J Redding & David E Weinstein, 2020. "Measuring Aggregate Price Indices with Taste Shocks: Theory and Evidence for CES Preferences," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(1), pages 503-560.
    12. Hauke A. Wetzel & Stefan Hattula & Maik Hammerschmidt & Harald J. Heerde, 2018. "Building and leveraging sports brands: evidence from 50 years of German professional soccer," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 591-611, July.
    13. Gurdgiev, Constantin T., 2006. "Owner-occupied housing in a model of exchange rate determination," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 217-229, September.
    14. Auer Ludwig von, 2005. "Potenziale und Grenzen eines nutzenbasierten ökonomischen Leitbildes für die amtliche Inflationsmessung / What Role Should Economic Reasoning Play in the Compilation of the Official Consumer Price Ind," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 225(3), pages 283-302, June.
    15. Reinhold Kosfeld & Hans-Friedrich Eckey & Jorgen Lauridsen, 2008. "Disparities in Prices and Income across German NUTS 3 Regions," Applied Economics Quarterly (formerly: Konjunkturpolitik), Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 54(2), pages 123-141.
    16. Henning Ahnert & Geoff Kenny, 2004. "Quality adjustment of European price statistics and the role for hedonics," Occasional Paper Series 15, European Central Bank.
    17. Didier Blanchet & Marc Fleurbaey, 2020. "Building Indicators for Inclusive Growth and its Sustainability: What Can the National Accounts Offer and How Can They Be Supplemented?," Economie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE), issue 517-518-5, pages 9-24.
    18. Latimaha, Rusli & Ismail, Nor Asmat & Bahari, Zakaria, 2020. "Cost of Living and Standard of Living Nexus: The Determinants of Cost of Living," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 54(3), pages 1-14.
    19. Rossi, Sergio, 2004. "The enlargement of the euro area: what lessons can be learned from EMU?," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(6), pages 947-970, January.
    20. Fabrice Etilé & Sebastien Lecocq & Christine Boizot-Szantai, 2018. "The Incidence of Soft-Drink Taxes on Consumer Prices and Welfare: Evidence from the French " Soda Tax"," Working Papers halshs-01808198, HAL.
    21. Tarek Atalla, Simona Bigerna, Carlo Andrea Bollino, and Rolando Fuentes, 2017. "Analyzing the Effects of Renewable Energy and Climate Conditions on Consumer Welfare," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(KAPSARC S).
    22. Latimaha, Rusli & Ismail, Nor Asmat, 2019. "Examining the Linkages between Street Crime and Selected State Economic Variables in Malaysia: A Panel Data Analysis," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 53(1), pages 59-72.
    23. Zhenkun Zhou & Zikun Song & Tao Ren, 2022. "Predicting China's CPI by Scanner Big Data," Papers 2211.16641, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2023.
    24. Jan Hanousek & Randall K. Filer, 2001. "Evaluating Imperfections and Biases in Price Indexes during Transition," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp186, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    25. Hassen, Azime A., 2016. "Agricultural taxation and economic growth in Ethiopia," 2016 Fifth International Conference, September 23-26, 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 246395, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).

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