Are there good alternatives to the CPI?

Charles Steindel

Current Issues in Economics and Finance, 1997, vol. 3, issue Apr

Abstract: Critics of the consumer price index--the most widely watched inflation measure--contend that it overstates inflation by as much as 1 percentage point a year. Some have argued that alternative indexes eliminate the CPI's upward bias and offer a more accurate reading of inflation levels. A closer look at these alternatives, however, reveals that they have substantive problems of their own, suggesting that the CPI, though flawed, is still our most reliable indicator of changes in inflation.

Keywords: Consumer; price; indexes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1997
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