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Does One Size Fit All? The CPI and Canadian Seniors

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  • Matthew Brzozowski

Abstract

The paper shows that the consumer price index (CPI) is often a very poor measure of inflation rates relevant to individual senior households. A high proportion of the inflation rates measured by household-specific price indexes falls more than one percentage point above or below the CPI inflation rate. Moreover, I use the Engel method proposed by Hamilton and Costa and demonstrate that the CPI inflation rate overestimated the average inflation rate faced by Canadian senior households during the 1970s and the 1980s but has accurately measured average inflation for such households during the 1990s. Finally, I estimate costs of oversta ting inflation adjustments to Canada Pension Plan.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew Brzozowski, 2006. "Does One Size Fit All? The CPI and Canadian Seniors," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 32(4), pages 387-412, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpp:issued:v:32:y:2006:i:4:p:387-412
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    1. Frank T. Denton & Byron G. Spencer, 1997. "How Well Does the CPI Serve as an Index of Inflation for Older Age Groups?," Quantitative Studies in Economics and Population Research Reports 329, McMaster University.
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    11. Bruce W. Hamilton, 2001. "Using Engel's Law to Estimate CPI Bias," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(3), pages 619-630, June.
    12. Wood, Robert G & Corcoran, Mary E & Courant, Paul N, 1993. "Pay Differences among the Highly Paid: The Male-Female Earnings Gap in Lawyers' Salaries," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 11(3), pages 417-441, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. James Gorry & Dean Scrimgeour, 2018. "Using Engel Curves To Estimate Consumer Price Index Bias For The Elderly," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(3), pages 539-553, July.
    3. Andrew Dabalen & Isis Gaddis & Nga Thi Viet Nguyen, 2020. "CPI Bias and its Implications for Poverty Reduction in Africa," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 18(1), pages 13-44, March.
    4. Garry F. Barrett & Matthew Brzozowski, 2010. "Using Engel Curves to Estimate the Bias in the Australian CPI," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 86(272), pages 1-14, March.
    5. Scrimgeour, Dean & Gorry, James, 2015. "Using Engel Curves to Estimate CPI Bias for the Elderly," Working Papers 2015-03, Department of Economics, Colgate University, revised 08 Jun 2015.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C1 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General
    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis

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