ECON 202 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Gdp Deflator, Nominal Interest Rate, Real Interest Rate

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oliveherring530

7 Mar 2016

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Chapter 11 measuring the cost of living. The consumer price index (cpi) is the measure of the overall cost of goods & services bought by a typical consumer. The cpi is the basis of cost of living adjustments (colas) in many contracts and in. To calculate the cpi the bureau of labor statistics (bls) follows 5 steps: fix the basket. , find the prices. The bls surveys consumers to determine what"s in the typical consumer"s. The bls collects data on the prices of all the goods in the basket: compute the basket"s cost. Use the prices to compute the total cost of the basket: choose a base year and compute the index. Price of basket of goods & services in current year * 100. Price of basket in base year: compute the inflation rate. The percentage change in the cpi from the preceding period.

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There are many different types of market baskets that economists measure. For example, the market basket for consumers called the 'Consumer Price Index' tracks the prices associated with the typical consumer's purchases of goods and services. The 'Producer Price Index' tracks the prices that firms receive when selling their goods and services.

Indicate the appropriate market basket to use in each of the following instances.

Consumer Price Index:

a)	Measuring differences in the cost of living between different cities.
b)	Examining price changes that might affect businesses.
c)	Measuring the cost of living for a typical consumer.

Producer Price Index:

A)	Measuring differences in the cost of living between different cities.
B)	Examining price changes that might affect businesses.
C)	Measuring the cost of living for a typical consumer.

amaranthbuffalo689

1. The peak of the business cycle

a. usually occurs when the natural rate of unemployment is equal to its actual rate.

b. is the point where an expansion ends and a recession begins

c. is the minimum level of nominal GDP.

2. The consumer price index (CPI) reflects

a. the median annual expenditures of a typical single family of four on consumer goods

b. the average price of all goods and services computed from the ratio of nominal GDP to real GDP.

c. the changes in the prices of goods and services typically purchased by consumers.

3. The Consumer Price Index is NOT used

a. to measure the average price level of all final goods and services produced

b. to compute the U.S. inflation rate.

c. to measure changes in the cost of living

4. Which of the following is true of a price index that uses a fixed market basket?

a. It excludes new goods and services

b. It accurately predicts the impact of rising prices when purchases are made at superstores.

c. It overstates the importance of items that fall in price.

5. A quality-change bias in the construction of the CPI arises because

a. big box stores that carry electronic goods routinely run sales to reduce their inventories before stocking new models.

b. consumers also shop at superstores or outlet stores

c. newer versions of a product might be more expensive but could also be better than the older version.

greydeer734

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates inflation by taking samples of prices for a 'basket of goods and services' a 'typical consumer' would purchase. Each good and service is assigned a 'weight' or the percentage of income spent on that product. For example, 'cakes, cupcakes, and cookies' are given a weight of 0.197. This means that about 0.2% of the 'average' household spending is made on these items. Of course, an individual's spending may vary significantly from the hypothetical basket of goods and services. In this assignment, you will review the BLS's Relative importance of components in the Consumer Price Indexes and compare how your household spending measures up to the typical consumers.

Part I

Considering your household budget, divide up your spending into these eight broad categories:

Category	CPI Weight	Your Budget
Food and beverages	14.8
Housing	41.5
Apparel	3.6
Transportation	17.3
Medical Care	6.6
Recreation	6.3
Education & Communication	6.4
Other	3.5
Total	100	100

How closely does your household spending correlate to the typical consumer? How might your household be disproportionately affected by a change in one of these broad categories? Do you believe that the government's weightings are an accurate approximation for the whole economy?

yellowpanda707

ECON 202 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Gdp Deflator, Nominal Interest Rate, Real Interest Rate

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