Estimation and Comparison of Chained CPI-U (Consumer Price Index-Urban) Standard Errors with Regular CPI-U Results (2000-2001)

摘要

In early 2002, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) began calculating and publishing the first C-CPI-U set of indexes. This new C-CPI-U (Chained Consumer Price Index--Urban), in its final form, is calculated and published every year, with roughly a one-year lag, using a Tornqvist formula. Its set of weights are updated yearly, so that a unique set of monthly weights are available for both time t as well as for time t--n. Thus, the new C-CPI-U index can be labeled superlative. We briefly outline the Tornqvist formula and then the methodology for estimating a set of standard errors for these new chained indexes. We then compare, over the 24-month period of January 2000 through December 2001, these new superlative index results and their standard errors with the regularly published CPI-U results and their published standard errors.