Switzerland
Official title
Indice suisse des prix à la consommation (Consumer Price Index).
Scope
The index is computed monthly and covers employees' households
throughout the country.
Official base
December 1982 = 100.
Source of weights
The weights and selected items were derived from a household
expenditure survey conducted in 1981 among a sample of 442
employees' households throughout the whole country. Data on
income and expenditure were collected each month from each sample
household over a period of 12 months. The weighting pattern was
adjusted for price changes between the middle of 1981 and the
middle of 1982.
Weights and composition
| Major groups
| Number of items
| Weights
| Approximate number of price quotations
|
| Food
| 127 | 21 | 73300
|
| Beverages and tobacco
| 22 | 5 | 27700
|
| Clothing and footwear
| 56 | 7 | 61800
|
| Rent
| 15 | 18 | 107000
|
| Fuel and light
| 13 | 5 | 2600
|
| Household equipment and maintenance
| 35 | 6 | 24800
|
| Transport and communication
| 58 | 14 | 5300
|
| Health and personal care
| 54 | 8 | 12300
|
| Education and recreation
| 33 | 16 | 19500
|
| Total
| 413 | 100 | 334300
|
Household consumption expenditure
Consumption expenditure for the purpose of the index comprises
all goods and services which employees' households purchase. It
includes indirect taxes, insurance premiums associated with the
use of motor vehicles, and radio and television licences.
Consumption expenditure not included in the compilation of the
index relates to items such as contributions to societies, gifts,
fines, loan interest, business travel, personal effects such as
jewellery, watches, bags, etc.
Method of data collection
Prices are collected from retail outlets and service establishments by
local authority investigators or by means of mail questionnaires. The
criterion for choosing an outlet is its local economic importance.
Prices for most food items, fuel and petrol are ascertained during the
first two weeks of each month in 48 towns (localities). Prices for
other items are collected quarterly. Special prices are taken into
account at the moment of the survey.
Housing
Rent quotations are obtained in May and November each year
for 100,000 apartments with one to five rooms, in 87 localities. The
different kinds of apartments (old, new and those built since the last
quotation) are represented in the index in proportion to their
respective numbers.
Specification of varieties
Each investigator can choose the most important
specifications for each item in terms of turnover and adapt his
selection as necessary according to market developments.
Substitution, quality change, etc.
Small quality changes are not taken into account. If there is an
important quality change, the item is treated as a new one
and the linking method is used. If an article is no longer
available on the market and the consumer has to buy a
substitute, the price of the substitute item is used for
computing the index.
Seasonal items
Seasonal fluctuations in the prices of fresh fruit and vegetables
are taken into account by varying the items and item weights within
the monthly baskets with constant group weights.
Computation
The index is computed according to the Laspeyres formula as a
weighted arithmetic average with fixed base, using weights
corresponding to the base period.
Separate indices are first calculated for each price quotation
in each individual outlet using averages of price relatives for
the current and base periods.
The national index represents the weighted arithmetic average
of indices relating to the different types of outlets and communes.
Other information
A new consumer price index is under preparation and will appear
shortly. Detailed sub-group indices are published,
as well as separate indices for 48 localities.
Organisation and publication
Département fédéral de l'intérieur, Office fédéral de la
statistique: L'indice suisse des prix à la consommation
(Berne).
Idem: Communiqué de presse
.
Département fédéral de l'économie publique, Office fédéral de
l'industrie, des arts et métiers et du travail: La Vie
économique
(February 1983).
Idem: La Vie économique, l'indice suisse des prix à la
consommation
, 89ème numéro spécial, 1977.