The Theory of the cost- of- living index

Providing a valuable resource for government economists, academics, and research libraries, this volume contains twelve papers by Robert Pollak--four previously unpublished--that explore the theory of the cost of living index. In addition to Pollak's classic paper, "The Theory of the Cost of Living Index," the volume includes papers on subindexes, the intertemporal cost of living index, welfare comparisons and equivalence scales, the social cost of living index, the treatment of "quality," and consumer durables in the cost of living index. Contents......Page 10 1. The Theory of the Cost-of-Living Index......Page 14 2. Subindexes of the Cost-of-Living Index......Page 64 3. The Intertemporal Cost-of-Living Index......Page 81 4. Welfare Evaluation and the Cost-of-Living Index in the Household Production Model......Page 101 5. Welfare Comparisons and Equivalence Scales......Page 122 6. Group Cost-of-Living Indexes......Page 130 7. The Social Cost-of-Living Index......Page 139 8. The Treatment of "Quality" in the Cost-of-Living Index......Page 164 9. The Treatment of the Environment in the Cost-of-Living Index......Page 192 10. Consumer Durables in a Cost-of-Living Index......Page 197 11. Mortgage Interest Rates in the CPI......Page 201 12. The Treatment of Taxes in the Consumer Price Index......Page 204 C......Page 212 D......Page 213 H......Page 214 M......Page 215 Q......Page 216 T......Page 217 W......Page 218 This volume presents twelve papers-four previously unpublished-that explore the theory of the cost-of-living index, and demonstrate the ways that the theory, when suitably elaborated, provides principled answers to many of the practical problems that arise in constructing indexes of consumer prices. This is a collection of eight published and two unpublished papers by a leading theorist, on the theories on index numbers, especially the cost of living index.