On the Precision of Consumer Price Indices Caused by the Sampling Variability of Budget Surveys¹

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Balk, B.M.^a | Kersten, H.M.P.^a

Affiliations: [a] Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics

Note: [1] The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies of the Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics. Budget survey data were provided by the Department for Statistics of Income and Consumption. Computing assistance by H.A. van der Grient is gratefully acknowledged.

Abstract: A consumer price index number (CPI) is the result of combining data from various complex sample surveys. In the present paper we concentrate on but one aspect of the accuracy of a CPI, namely, the variance due to the sampling variability of the budget survey(s) from which the weighting coefficients are derived. Using the individual budget survey data the variance of a CPI can be estimated by means of the method of balanced half samples. This method is applied to several types of CPIs and to CPIs for different groups of households.

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-1986-14102

Journal: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 19-35, 1986