The Consumer Price Index: Conceptual Issues and Practical Suggestions
讨论美国国家科学院小组对消费者价格指数改进的四项建议，包括是否以生活成本指数为目标、是否纳入环境变化影响、如何应用特征价格法测量质量变化、以及是否测量新商品带来的消费者剩余。
A National Academy of Sciences Panel recently made a number of recommendations to the BLS for improving the Consumer Price Index, while also suggesting some cautions to be observed when considering the adoption of new concepts and techniques. This paper discusses the Panel's analyses in four areas: Should a cost-ofliving index be the measurement objective of the CPI? Should the index attempt to capture the effect on living costs from changes in “environmental” conditions? How can hedonic techniques be best applied for measuring quality changes? Should the BLS attempt to measure the consumer surpluses accompanying the introduction of new goods?