Owners' Equivalent Rent and the Cost of Living

摘要

My intent is to discuss the basic motivation for including a rental-equivalent measure of homeowners' shelter costs in a cost-of-living index. I'm not going to join in the debate about the specific procedures BLS uses to compute this measure. I'll start by addressing the prime criticism one hears: "Movements in the potential rental rate on my house are irrelevant, since I need a place to live."