The base CPI 1999 = 100 measures the evolution of the prices of goods and services consumed by households residing in the Greater Buenos Aires agglomerate.
The set of goods and services whose prices are collected for the calculation of the CPI constitutes the basket of the index, which is representative of the consumption expenses of households residing in the City of Buenos Aires and in 24 parties of Greater Buenos Aires (GBA).
The methodological design of the IPC-GBA responds to the recommendations of the ILO, within the framework of the System of National Accounts 1993 (United Nations, 1996).
The CPI is not a cost of living index (LCI). An ICV seeks to reflect the changes in the amount of expenses that an average consumer spends to keep his level of satisfaction, utility, or his standard of living constant, accepting - among other things - that he can permanently exchange his consumption between goods and services that provide the same satisfaction per unit of expenditure.
Unlike the ICV, the IPC does not consider all the expenses of consumers that have to do with maintaining their standard of living. Excludes, for example, interest payments and loan repayments, and taxes not included in the prices of goods.
Characteristics of the price survey
Every working day of each month approximately 80,000 prices are surveyed in some 6,000 reporting businesses.
The sampling frame to select the informant businesses was elaborated with data from the 1994 National Economic Census and complementary information on the appearance of new shopping centers.
Large stores, such as supermarkets and hypermarkets, were selected from direct listings.
The CPI basket was provided by the National Survey of Household Expenditures carried out between February 1996 and January 1997, whose reference population was households residing in the Greater Buenos Aires geographical area.
Different classifications of the products in the basket
1. The classification of the products in the basket according to the purpose of the expenditure gives rise to the following chapters:
- Food and drinks Clothing and basic services Home equipment and maintenance Medical care and health expenses Transportation and communications Leisure Activities Education Other goods and services
2. Those products can also be classified into goods and services.
3. In order to facilitate the impact analysis of the recent economic measures that affected the value of the exchange rate (first semester of 2002), we proceeded to classify all the varieties of products whose prices are used to prepare the CPI - GBA taking into account the characteristics of the sample. The origin of the product or its inputs (imported, national) determines a greater or lesser sensitivity of the price to changes in the exchange rate. Taking into account that characterization, they are distinguished:
Mainly imported products, • with prices very sensitive to the variation of the commercial exchange rate, for example: bananas, washing machines, telephone equipment, air tickets abroad, audio equipment, computers and their supplies.
Products of mixed origin • (national and imported) such as chickens, ham, refrigerators and stoves, cars and their spare parts.
Products with a high content of imported • inputs, including all products whose price is usually relatively sensitive to the price of imported inputs or equipment. For example: products made with cocoa or coffee, products that have imported tetrabrick or plastic containers, cleaning products, medicines and laboratory tests, televisions, audio and photo services, toiletries, and domestic airfare.
Exportable products such as meats, • fish, oils, rice, apples, citrus fruits, sugar and caramels.
• Products made from exportable inputs, for example: bakery products, noodles and other pasta, fuels, newspapers, magazines and books.
Products not very sensitive (in the short term) to variations in the • exchange rate. This group included public services (electricity, water, communications, public transport), products and services with seasonal variations (fruits, vegetables, clothing, hotels, etc.), dairy products and others whose prices are strongly influenced by variations. of internal supply and demand.
Source: INDEC
