Denmark
Official title
Consumer Price Index.
Scope
The index is compiled monthly and covers total private
consumption on Danish territory.
Official base
1980 = 100.
Source of weights
The weights were obtained from the 1987 national accounts
statistics. Total household final consumption expenditure in
the national accounts is divided into 63 groups. The breakdown
of the expenditure within these groups is based on the more
detailed information obtained from a household expenditure survey
conducted in 1987, covering a sample of 2,232 private
households. The weights were adjusted for price changes between
1987 and January 1991. If the expenditure for an article was
negligible then its weight was distributed proportionately among
the selected items within a sub-group. Total expenditure was thus
distributed among the selected items before the relative weights
were calculated.
Weights and composition
| Major groups
| Number of items
| Weights
| Approximate number of price quotations
|
| Food
| 152 | 14.45 | 14000
|
| Beverages and tobacco
| 21 | 6.63 | 900
|
| Rent and maintenance
| 13 | 21.46 | (a) 150
|
| Fuel and light
| 8 | 6.99 | 200
|
| Clothing and footwear
| 60 | 5.71 | 1300
|
| Household goods
| 90 | 6.51 | 2350
|
| Medical care
| 12 | 1.79 | (b) 100
|
| Transport and communication
| 64 | 17.19 | 700
|
| Education and recreation
| 64 | 9.47 | 1800
|
| Other goods and services
| 47 | 9.80 | 500
|
| Total
| 531 | 100.00 | 22000
|
Note: (a) Maintenance only, &exc semi-annual rent survey of sample of 4,200 rented dwellings.
(b) Excl. special survey for medicine covering total range of products.
Household consumption expenditure
The concept of household consumption expenditure in the Danish
national accounts is that of final consumption in the domestic
market.
Method of data collection
Prices are collected monthly from approximately 1,500 private
stores and local branches of chain stores and 270 establishments,
trade organisations, etc.
Prices for 71 items, mainly food and beverages, are
collected by interviewers from about 480 retail outlets in 34
municipalities. Prices for other foodstuffs, non-durable household
goods, goods for personal care, etc. are collected from
national or regional chain stores either from price lists or by
direct reporting by questionnaire. Prices for the remaining items
are collected through a monthly postal survey covering a
varying number of shops throughout the country. The prices
used in the index are the actual prices paid by any member of the
public. Discounts and sales prices are taken into consideration
when the quality and quantity of the product are according to
specifications.
Housing
Rent data are obtained in April and October each year from a
fixed sample of 4,200 rented dwellings throughout the country. New
dwellings are included in the computation of the average rent. These
are dwellings of a higher standard than the average dwelling in the
stock. The problem of quality difference has to be solved somewhat
arbitrarily because the rents are subject to control. The Danish
approach at present is to measure the rent of new dwellings in relation
to the rent of dwellings built in the last 3-year period. Briefly,
the influence of new flats in the computation is similar to
the influence of a separate index for new dwellings considered as a
separate item. The weight for rent also includes the imputed rent for
owner-occupied dwellings. The computation of imputed rents for
owner-occupied housing is based on information on rents for rented
flats.
Specification of varieties
Detailed specifications of the 345 items included in the postal survey
are given according to brand name, size, unit and model, etc. In
several cases the choice of brand and model is left to the individual
shopkeeper, and once selected the brand name and model will be entered
in the questionnaire form. The specification of items for price
collection in local municipalities is less rigid, leaving the choice to
the interviewers. Interviewers must use the same variety from one month
to the next or report a change of type when this occurs.
Substitution, quality change, etc.
When a product is no longer available, it is replaced by a
similar product, or its weight is added to another item or
distributed within the sub-group. Quality changes in products are
examined by consulting the dealers or manufacturers/importers.
If the price change due to a quality change can be estimated, a
correction will be made. Failing this, the price of the
substituted product will be used in the computation before a
price is available for two successive months. For motor cars,
adjustments for changes in a model are based on the opinion of
the consumer organisation and the importer/producer.
Seasonal items
Prices for fish (cod, plaice), fresh fruit (apples, oranges, grapes)
are fresh vegetables are subject to seasonal adjustments.
Computation
The index is computed according to the Laspeyres formula as a
weighted arithmetic average with fixed base, using weights
corresponding to January 1991. Item indices are computed using
relatives of average prices for many items and averages of price
relatives for others. These average prices and the
average of price relatives are weighted or simple arithmetic
averages, depending on the nature of the price data. In the case
of weighted averages, the weights are either the population
of urban areas or are derived from figures of retail
sales turnover.
Other information
In addition to the consumer price index, an index excluding taxes
and subsidies is published: nettoprisindekset (the net price
index).
Organisation and publication
Danmarks Statistik: Statistiske Efterretninger
(Copenhagen).
Idem: Nyt fra Danmarks Statistik
(newsletter).
Idem: Statistik Manedsoversigt
.
Idem: Statistikservice: Prisstatistik
.
Idem: Statistik Arbog
.
Idem: Statistiske Efterretninger, Indkomst, forbrug og
priser
, no. 8, 1991.