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Measurement Bias in the Canadian Consumer Price Index

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  • James Rossiter

Abstract

The consumer price index (CPI) is the most commonly used measure of inflation in Canada. As an indicator of changes in the cost of living, however, the CPI is subject to various types of measurement bias. The author updates previous Bank of Canada estimates of the bias in the Canadian CPI by examining four different sources of potential bias. He finds that the total measurement bias has increased only slightly in recent years to 0.6 percentage points per year, and is low when compared with other countries.

Suggested Citation

  • James Rossiter, 2005. "Measurement Bias in the Canadian Consumer Price Index," Staff Working Papers 05-39, Bank of Canada.
    • Handle: RePEc:bca:bocawp:05-39
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Timothy K.M. Beatty & Erling Røed Larsen, 2005. "Using Engel curves to estimate bias in the Canadian CPI as a cost of living index," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(2), pages 482-499, May.
    2. W. Erwin Diewert, 1998. "Index Number Issues in the Consumer Price Index," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(1), pages 47-58, Winter.
    3. Alastair Cunningham, 1996. "Measurement Bias in Price Indices: An Application to the UK's RPI," Bank of England working papers 47, Bank of England.
    4. Erwin Diewert & Denis Lawrence, 1999. "Measuring New Zealand’s Productivity," Treasury Working Paper Series 99/05, New Zealand Treasury.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kevin D. Moore & William Robson & Alexandre Laurin, 2010. "Canada’s Looming Retirement Challenge: Will Future Retirees Be Able to Maintain Their Living Standards upon Retirement?," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 317, December.
    2. Oleg KITOV & Ivan KITOV, 2012. "A Win-Win Monetary Policy In Canada," Journal of Applied Economic Sciences, Spiru Haret University, Faculty of Financial Management and Accounting Craiova, vol. 6(6(18)/ Su), pages 160-176.
    3. Angelo Melino, 2011. "Moving Monetary Policy Forward: Why Small Steps - and a Lower Inflation Target - Make Sense for the Bank of Canada," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 319, January.
    4. Oleksiy Kryvtsov, 2016. "Is there a quality bias in the Canadian CPI? Evidence from microdata," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1401-1424, November.
    5. Christopher Ragan, 2011. "Fixing Canada’s CPI: A Simple and Sensible Policy Change for Minister Flaherty," e-briefs 111, C.D. Howe Institute.
    6. Gaddis,Isis, 2016. "Prices for poverty analysis in Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7652, The World Bank.
    7. Christopher Ragan, 2011. "Precision Targeting: The Economics – and Politics – of Improving Canada’s Inflation-Targeting Framework," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 321, February.
    8. Colin Bermingham & Dermot Coates & Derry O'Brien, 2016. "Estimating Commodity Substitution Bias in the Irish Inflation Rate Statistics during the Financial Crisis," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 47(3), pages 327-337.
    9. Huang Ning & Wimalaratne Waruna & Pollard Brent, 2017. "The Effects of the Frequency and Implementation Lag of Basket Updates on the Canadian CPI," Journal of Official Statistics, Sciendo, vol. 33(4), pages 979-1004, December.
    10. Gregor W. Smith, 2009. "The Missing Links: Better Measures of Inflation and Inflation Expectations in Canada," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 287, April.
    11. Michael Parkin, 2009. "What is the Ideal Monetary Policy Regime? Improving the Bank of Canada's Inflation-targeting Program," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 279, January.
    12. Robson, William, 2006. "Accounting for and Thinking about Social Security Liabilities in Canada," Discussion Paper 285, Center for Intergenerational Studies, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inflation et prix; Cibles en matière d'inflation;

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy

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