open directory as PDF-file
Further information and access to full text (for registered users) are available at EconPapers, EBSCO, JSTOR, WISO and DigiZeitschriften.
Content:Introduction to the Special Issue on Index Number Theory and Price Statistics JBNST - Vol. 230/6 - 2010, pp. 660-672.
Auer, Ludwig von: Drobisch’s Legacy to Price Statistics JBNST - Vol. 230/6 - 2010, pp. 673-689.
+ show abstract- hide abstractThis paper attempts to establish a greater awareness among researchers for the noteworthy
contributions to price index theorymade byMoritz Wilhelm Drobisch (1802-1896), a German
mathematician and philosopher at the Universita¨ t Leipzig. Few economists and statisticians are
aware of the fact that neither E´ tienne Laspeyres nor Hermann Paasche originally devised the
well-known price indices that presently carry their names. Moritz Wilhelm Drobisch was the
first to publish them in 1871 in a treatise and, shortly thereafter, in an abridged version that
appeared in this very journal. He rejected them, however, because in his view they were inappropriate
measures of inflation. Instead, he devised the unit value index, which he regarded as
superior to all other price index formulas. This paper contains a description of his pioneering
scientific achievements together with a synopsis of his personal and professional life. Its purpose
is to give credit where credit is due, but more importantly, it attempts to recognize these
seminal contributions in light of the factors that have tarnished them in the recorded annals of
price index history. It attempts to put them into their proper perspective. Diewert, W.Erwin, Peter von der Lippe: Notes on Unit Value Index Bias JBNST - Vol. 230/6 - 2010, pp. 690-708.
+ show abstract- hide abstractIt is often the case that the value of a number of somewhat similar units (e. g., automobiles of a
certain general type) is divided by the number of units in order to form a unit value price and
these unit value prices are compared over two periods in order to form a unit value price index.
This unit value price index or Drobisch price index can then be compared with other standard
index number formulae and the bias in the index can be determined. The present paper presents
most of the known results on this bias (and derives some new ones) in a coherent framework
using a simple identity from the statistics literature. A related question first considered by Pa´ rniczky
(1974) is also considered: does disaggregation of a unit value into more homogeneous
subgroups reduce the unit value bias? The answer seems to be: probably yes. Mehrhoff, Jens: Aggregate Indices and Their Corresponding Elementary Indices JBNST - Vol. 230/6 - 2010, pp. 709-725.
+ show abstract- hide abstract“Which index formula at the elementary level, where no expenditure share weights are available,
corresponds to a desired aggregate index?” To answer this question, this paper develops a
statistical approach. It proposes a theoretical framework which makes it possible to achieve
numerical equivalence of an elementary index with the Laspeyres, Paasche or Fisher price index.
Depending on the price elasticity, different elementary indices should be applied to different
groups of goods in order to approach the desired aggregate index as closely as possible.
Furthermore, the new statistical approach assures internal consistency between price and volume
measurement. Balk, Bert M., Lowe and Cobb-Douglas: Consumer Price Indices and their Substitution Bias JBNST - Vol. 230/6 - 2010, pp. 726-740.
+ show abstract- hide abstractCatching the effect of substitution behaviour in a Consumer Price Index (CPI) as good as possible
is a goal pursued by statistical agencies throughout the world. The difference between a
CPI and a certain target cost-of-living index is called substitution bias. Balk and Diewert (2003)
considered the substitution bias of a Lowe Consumer Price Index; see also CPIManual (2004:
Chapter 17). The present paper considers the substitution bias of a Cobb-Douglas (or Geometric
Young) CPI, and compares the two price indices with respect to their substitution
bias. It appears difficult to draw a clear-cut conclusion. Greenlees, John S., Elliot Williams: Reconsideration of Weighting and Updating Procedures in the US CPI JBNST - Vol. 230/6 - 2010, pp. 741-758.
+ show abstract- hide abstractIn 2002, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) introduced a supplemental C-CPI-U employing
a superlative formula to provide a closer approximation to a cost-of-living index (COLI).
This paper focuses on whether the BLS can improve upon the headline CPI-U’s current biennial
weight update process, thereby reducing the CPI-U’s growth rate and bringing the index closer
to the C-CPI-U.
We begin by estimating superlative price indexes for 1999 through 2007 along with indexes
based on the constant-elasticity-of-substitution demand model. Our analyses confirm that the
consumer expenditure data underlying the CPI imply substantial consumer substitution, implying
that the CPI-U’s Lowe index formula yields higher inflation estimates than would a true
COLI.
Simulating feasible weight update processes, we find that a Lowe index with two-year weight
reference periods but annual updating rises by about 0.03 percentage points less per year than
the CPI-U. Another 0.01 percentage point on average is subtracted by imposing annual revision
with one-year base periods. Thus, indexes with more timely weights may offer improved representation
of current price change, as well as closer approximations to a COLI. Diewert, W. Erwin: User Costs versus Waiting Services and Depreciation in a Model of Production JBNST - Vol. 230/6 - 2010, pp. 759-771.
+ show abstract- hide abstractThe paper develops an extension of a one period model of production involving beginning and
end of the period capital stocks along with output and input flows that is due to Hicks and
Edwards and Bell. This generalized Austrian model of production takes into account that end
of the period capital stocks result from: (i) purchases of new investment goods; (ii) internal
construction of firm capital stock components and (iii) holdings of (depreciated) capital goods
that were held by the firm at the beginning of the period. These different methods of creating
end of period holdings of capital stocks generally have different resource requirements and
hence the one period production possibilities set is more complex than the usual one. This
general model of production is used to justify the decomposition of the Jorgensonian user
cost of capital into separate waiting services and depreciation components. de Haan, Jan: Hedonic Price Indexes: A Comparison of Imputation, Time Dummy and ‘Re-Pricing’ Methods JBNST - Vol. 230/6 - 2010, pp. 772-791.
+ show abstract- hide abstractThe main approaches to measuring hedonic indexes in the academic literature are the imputation
approach and the time dummy approach. This paper compares both approaches, discusses
an alternative method called hedonic re-pricing, and comments on a recent contribution by
Diewert et al. (2009). The aim is to explain the differences between the various hedonic approaches
as well as their similarities, and to point to the implications for statistical agencies.
Hedonic price indexes can be weighted or unweighted and the paper addresses the issue of
choice of regression weights. For unweighted indexes it is shown that the ’full’ hedonic imputation
approach and the time dummy approach implicitly leave the matched part of the indexes
unaffected, just like ’single’ and ’double’ hedonic imputation do explicitly. Shimizu, Chihiro, Kiyohiko G. Nishimura, Tsutomu Watanabe: Housing Prices in Tokyo: A Comparison of Hedonic and Repeat Sales Measures JBNST - Vol. 230/6 - 2010, pp. 792-813.
+ show abstract- hide abstractDo indexes of house prices behave differently depending on the estimation method? If so, to
what extent? To address these questions, we use a unique dataset that we compiled from individual
listings in a widely circulated real estate advertisementmagazine. The dataset contains
more than 470,000 listings of housing prices between 1986 and 2008, including the period of
the housing bubble and its burst.We find that there exists a substantial discrepancy in terms of
turning points between hedonic and repeat sales indexes, even though the hedonic index is
adjusted for structural changes and the repeat sales index is adjusted in theway Case and Shiller
suggested. Specifically, the repeat sales measure signals turning points later than the hedonic
measure: for example, the hedonic measure of condominium prices bottomed out at the beginning
of 2002, while the corresponding repeat sales measure exhibits a reversal only in the
spring of 2004. This discrepancy cannot be fully removed even if we adjust the repeat sales
index for depreciation. Linz, Stefan: Regional Consumer Price Differences Within Germany JBNST - Vol. 230/6 - 2010, pp. 814-831.
+ show abstract- hide abstractEvery month the Consumer Price Index for Germany (CPI) provides comprehensive and detailed
information regarding the price development over time. However, when differences in
the price level across regions in Germany have to be analysed at a given point in time, sufficient
information is not available at present.
Interest in regional consumer price data is shown by both scientists and policy makers. Currently,
this information demand is not met as regional consumer prices or regional price comparisons
are not provided by the Federal Statistical Office in Germany.
Data available from the German Consumer Price Index is suitable to follow the price development
over time but cannot be used directly to compare price levels of different regions because
the goods tracked may be different from region to region.
The article first considers the information demand and gives an overview of existing price data.
Its main part refers to an empirical study which was conducted to check if existing Consumer
Price Index data can be used to calculate regional consumer price comparisons by ex-post selecting
comparable products.
Book Reviews Gräb, Johannes: Econometric Analysis in Poverty Research JBNST - Vol. 230/6 - 2010, pp. 832-832.
Klein, Lawrence R. (ed.): The Making of National Economic Forecasts JBNST - Vol. 230/6 - 2010, pp. 833-834.
Mandler, Martin: Geldpolitische Reaktionsfunktionen und makroökonomische Unsicherheit JBNST - Vol. 230/6 - 2010, pp. 833-834.
Stapleford, Thomas: The Cost of Living in America. A Political History of Economic Statistics, 1880-2000 JBNST - Vol. 230/6 - 2010, pp. 838-838.
|