1. CPI Consumer Price Index.By:- Gaurav kr Gautam

2. What is CPI. A consumer price index (CPI) measures changes through time in the price level of consumer goods and services purchased by households. The CPI is defined by the United StatesBureau of Labor Statistics as "a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services."[1] The CPI is a statistical estimate constructed using the prices of a sample of representative items whose prices are collected periodically. Sub-indexes and sub-sub-indexes are computed for different categories and sub-categories of goods and services, being combined to produce the overall index with weights reflecting their shares in the total of the consumer expenditures covered by the index. It is one of several price indices calculated by most national statistical agencies. 3. Introduction. Two basic types of data are needed to construct the CPI: price data and weighting data. The price data are collected for a sample of goods and services from a sample of sales outlets in a sample of locations for a sample of times. The weighting data are estimates of the shares of the different types of expenditure in the total expenditure covered by the index. These weights are usually based upon expenditure data obtained from expenditure surveys for a sample of households or upon estimates of the composition of consumption expenditure in theNational Income and Product Accounts. Although some of the sampling of items for price collection is done using a sampling frame and probabilistic sampling methods, many items and outlets are chosen in a commonsense way (purposive sampling) that does not permit estimation of confidence intervals. Therefore, the sampling variance cannot be calculated. In any case, a single estimate is required in most of the purposes for which the index is used. 4. Introduction. The index is usually computed monthly, or quarterly in some countries, as a weighted average of sub-indices for different components of consumer expenditure, such as food, housing, clothing, each of which is in turn a weighted average of sub-sub-indices. At the most detailed level, the elementary aggregate level, (for example, men's shirts sold in department stores in San Francisco), detailed weighting information is unavailable, so indices are computed using an unweighted arithmetic or geometric mean of the prices of the sampled product offers. (However, the growing use of scanner data is gradually making weighting information available even at the most detailed level.) These indices compare prices each month with prices in the price-reference month. The weights used to combine them into the higher-level aggregates, and then into the overall index, relate to the estimated expenditures during a preceding whole year of the consumers covered by the index on the products within its scope in the area covered. Thus the index is a fixed-weight index, but rarely a true Laspeyres index, since the weight-reference period of a year and the price-reference period, usually a more recent single month, do not coincide. It takes time to assemble and process the information used for weighting which, in addition to household expenditure surveys, may include trade and tax data. Ideally, the weights would relate to the composition of expenditure during the time between the price-reference month and the current month. 5. THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX The consumer price index (CPI) is a measure of the overall cost of the goods and services bought by a typical consumer. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the CPI each month. It is used to monitor changes in the cost of living over time. When the CPI rises, the typical family has to spend more dollars to maintain the same standard of living. 6. Measuring the Cost of Living Inflation refers to a situation in which theeconomys overall price level is rising. The inflation rate is the percentage change inthe price level from the previous period. 7. How the Consumer Price Index Is Calculated. Fix the Basket: Determine what prices are most important to the typical consumer. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) identifies a marketbasket of goods and services the typical consumerbuys. The BLS conducts monthly consumer surveys to set theweights for the prices of those goods and services. Find the Prices: Find the prices of each of the goodsand services in the basket for each point in time. Compute the Baskets Cost: Use the data on prices tocalculate the cost of the basket of goods and servicesat different times. 8. How the Consumer Price Index Is Calculated. Choose a Base Year and Compute the Index: Designate one year as the base year, making it thebenchmark against which other years arecompared. Compute the index by dividing the price of thebasket in one year by the price in the base year andmultiplying by 100. Compute the inflation rate: The inflation rate isthe percentage change in the price index from thepreceding period. 9. How the Consumer Price Index Is Calculated. The Inflation Rate The inflation rate is calculated as follows: CPI in Year 2 - CPI in Year 1 Inflation Rate in Year 2 = 100 CPI in Year 1 10. How the Consumer Price Index Is Calculated. Calculating the Consumer Price Index and the Inflation Rate: Another Example Base Year is 2002. Basket of goods in 2002 costs $1,200. The same basket in 2004 costs $1,236. CPI = ($1,236/$1,200) 100 = 103. Prices increased 3 percent between 2002 and 2004. 11. FYI: Whats in the CPIs Basket?16%Food andbeverages 17% 41% Transportation Housing Education and 6% communication6%6% 4% 4% Medical care Other goods Recreation Appareland services 12. Problems in Measuring the Cost of Living The CPI is an accurate measure of the selected goods that make up the typical bundle, but it is not a perfect measure of the cost of living. Substitution bias Introduction of new goods Unmeasured quality changes 13. The GDP Deflator versus the Consumer Price Index. The GDP deflator is calculated as follows:Nominal GDP GDP deflator = 100 Real GDP 14. The GDP Deflator versus the Consumer Price Index Economists and policymakers monitor both the GDP deflator and the consumer price index to gauge how quickly prices are rising. There are two important differences between the indexes that can cause them to diverge. The consumer price index compares the price of a fixed basket of goods and services to the price of the basket in the base year (only occasionally does the BLS change the basket)... 15. CORRECTING ECONOMIC VARIABLES FOR THE EFFECTS OF INFLATION Price indexes are used to correct for the effects of inflation when comparing dollar figures from different times. 16. Dollar Figures from Different Times Do the following to convert (inflate) Babe Ruths wages in 1931 to dollars in 2001:Price level in 2001Salary2001 Salary1931Price level in 1931177 $80,000 15.2$931,579 17. Table 2 The Most Popular Movies of All Times, InflationAdjusted. 18. Indexation When some dollar amount is automatically corrected for inflation by law or contract, the amount is said to be indexed for inflation. 19. Real and Nominal Interest Rates Interest represents a payment in the future for a transfer of money in the past. You borrowed $1,000 for one year. Nominal interest rate was 15%. During the year inflation was 10%. Real interest rate = Nominal interest rate Inflation = 15% - 10% = 5% 20. Real and Nominal Interest Rates The nominal interest rate is the interest rate usually reported and not corrected for inflation. It is the interest rate that a bank pays. The real interest rate is the nominal interest rate that is corrected for the effects of inflation. 21. Summary The consumer price index shows the cost of a basket of goods and services relative to the cost of the same basket in the base year. The index is used to measure the overall level of prices in the economy. The percentage change in the CPI measures the inflation rate. The real interest rate equals the nominal interest rate minus the rate of inflation. Dollar figures from different points in time do not represent a valid comparison of purchasing power. 22. Bibliography. Sources of information. www.google.com www.wikipedia.com. Market such. 23. THANK YOU.