Measuring Real Consumption and CPI Bias under Lockdown Conditions

Walter Diewert and Kevin Fox

No 27144, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Millions of goods and services are now unavailable in many countries due to the current coronavirus pandemic, dramatically impacting on the construction of key economic statistics used for informing policy. This situation is unprecedented; hence methods to address it have not previously been developed. Current advice to national statistical offices from the IMF, Eurostat and the UN is shown to result in downward bias in the CPI and upward bias in real consumption. We conclude that the only way to produce a meaningful CPI within the lockdown period is through establishing a continuous consumer expenditure survey.

JEL-codes: C43 E21 E31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mac
Note: PR
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (36)

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