E15: CPI, WPI, and Inflation

Statistically Insignificant

We talk about the consumer price index and the wage price index, how the CPI is used to measure inflation, and why these metrics are particularly bad for reflecting the experience of the very poor.

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References

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2018) '6461.0 - Consumer Price Index: Concepts, Sources and Methods', accessed 30 Jan 2022, https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6461.0.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021) 'Annual weight update of the CPI and Living Cost Indexes', accessed 30 Jan 2022, https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/price-indexes-and-inflation/annual-weight-update-cpi-and-living-cost-indexes/2021.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2022) 'Consumer Price Index, Australia methodology', accessed 30 Jan 2022, https://www.abs.gov.au/methodologies/consumer-price-index-australia-methodology/dec-2021.

COVID-19 in Australia (2022) https://www.covid19data.com.au/ Website accessed 20th Feb 2022.

Flood, A. (2022) 'Terry Pratchett estate backs Jack Monroe's idea for 'Vimes Boots' poverty index', The Guardian, 27th Jan, accessed 29th Jan 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jan/26/terry-pratchett-jack-monroe-vimes-boots-poverty-index

Hamilton, S. (2022) tweet: https://twitter.com/SHamiltonian/status/1490458920019959812

Monroe, J. (2022) 'We’re pricing the poor out of food in the UK – that’s why I’m launching my own price index', The Guardian, 23rd Jan, accessed 29th Jan 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/22/were-pricing-the-poor-out-of-food-in-the-uk-thats-why-im-launching-my-own-price-index

Jack Monroe tweets at: https://twitter.com/BootstrapCook

The video-only version of this episode is at: https://youtu.be/_zLUYS7pBIg

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