Price Measurement and Mismeasurement in Central Asia
IMF Working Papers, August 1, 1995
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- Price Measurement and Mismeasurement in Central Asia
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Vincent Koen
- Published: August 1, 1995
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451850406.001
Summary
- Author: Vincent Koen
- Date: August 1, 1995
- Series: Working Paper No. 1995/082
- Issue: 082
- Volume: 1995
- Pages: 30
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451850406.001
- ISBN: 9781451850406
- ISSN: 1018-5941
- Abstracted summary: The vertiginous increases in the overall price level and dramatic swings in relative prices experienced by Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan since the onset of the transition rendered their traditional Paasche retail price indices obsolete and called for the introduction of Laspeyres consumer price indices. While the latter represent a major improvement, several measurement or interpretation issues remain, reflecting various potential index number biases, dispersion of prices and inflation across geographical areas and social groups, discontinuities in the inflation process, residual shortages, and seasonality.
Key findings
- Traditional Paasche retail price indices became obsolete in Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan following transition-related price changes.
- Introduction of Laspeyres consumer price indices represented a major improvement over Paasche indices for these countries.
- Despite improvements, multiple measurement and interpretation issues persisted:
- potential index number biases;
- dispersion of prices and inflation across geographical areas and social groups;
- discontinuities in the inflation process;
- residual shortages;
- seasonality.
Subject areas and keywords
- Subject: Consumer price indexes, Consumption, Income, Inflation, National accounts, Price indexes, Prices
- Keywords: appropriate consumer price indices, base period, Central Asia, computed price indices, Consumer price indexes, Consumption, CPI basket, CPI display, expenditure pattern, hybrid CPIs, Income, Inflation, liberalization proceeds, price collector, price decontrol measure, price index, Price indexes, price level dispersion, purchasing power, recovery ratio, revised RPI, unit price, WP
Context and provenance
- Prepared for a conference on "Poverty and Social Security in Central Asia" organized by the European University Institute, in Florence, on September 22-23, 1995, and to be published in Household Welfare in Central Asia.
- Notice: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF. The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate.
Source: IMF Working Papers — "Price Measurement and Mismeasurement in Central Asia", Vincent Koen, August 1, 1995, Working Paper No. 1995/082.