Is Price Inflation Different for the Elderly? An Empirical Analysis of Prescription Drugs

摘要

Recently controversy has surrounded the issue of whether Social Security payments to the elderly should continue to be adjusted automatically according to changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). One issue in the public policy debate concerns whether price inflation is different for the elderly, particularly because the official Bureau of Labor Statistics price indexes for medical care have been growing more rapidly than the overall CPI, and medical care expenditures constitute a larger proportion of the elderly’s budget than of the young’s.