Honduras
Official title
Indice General de Precios al Consumidor (Consumer Price Index).
Scope
The index is computed monthly and covers families from all urban
areas with an annual income ranging between 3,000 to 12,000
lempiras during the period 1978-79.
Official base
1978 = 100.
Source of weights
The weights and selected items were derived from a nation-wide urban
household expenditure survey conducted during the period January
1978-August 1979 among 5,328 households in 44 towns. The sample for the
index covered 2,306 urban households with an annual income ranging
between 3,000 to 12,000 lempiras at the time of the survey.
Weights and composition
| Major groups
| Number of items
| Weights
| Approximate number of price quotations
|
| Food
| 64 | 41.214 | 7968
|
| Beverages and tobacco
| 7 | 3.790 | 133
|
| Housing:
|
| Rent
| 1 | 13.202 | 164
|
| Repairs
| 4 | 3.288 | 73
|
| Household expenditure (including fuel and light)
| 19 | 9.611 | 190
|
| Furniture and household equipment
| 13 | 4.510 | 520
|
| Clothing and footwear
| 34 | 9.110 | 1320
|
| Personal and medical care
| 30 | 6.952 | 906
|
| Transport
| 7 | 3.033 | 94
|
| Education and recreation
| 10 | 5.290 | 184
|
| Total
| 189 | 100.000 | 11552
|
Household consumption expenditure
Not available.
Method of data collection
Prices are collected by agents in markets, retail outlets and
service establishments in six towns throughout the country.
Prices for food items are collected each Tuesday,
those for educational services once a year, rent quotations,
medical services and transport are obtained half-yearly. For
about 150 items, prices are collected around the 15th of each
month.
Housing
Rent quotations are obtained twice a year from a sample of 164
dwellings occupied by middle-income group families with living
room, dining room, kitchen and at least two bedrooms.
Specification of varieties
The items covered by the survey are based on strict
specifications.
Substitution, quality change, etc.
If an item disappears from the market, a similar item is
substituted for pricing. No account is taken of quality change
in item specifications.
Seasonal items
Items subject to seasonal fluctuations are not included in the
index.
Computation
The index is computed according to the Laspeyres formula as a
weighted arithmetic average with fixed base, the weights
corresponding to the base period.
Average prices for each item in each city are simple
arithmetic averages of prices obtained in each city. These
average prices are then combined using area weights to arrive at
average prices for regions. The average item price
relatives for regions are calculated by dividing the regional
average price for the current period by the regional average price
for the base period. The national index is a weighted average of
five urban regional indices (Central, North, South, East and
West), using weights proportionate to expenditure shares
of the regions as derived from the household expenditure survey.
Organisation and publication
Banco Central de Honduras, Departamento de Estudios Económicos:
Boletín Estadístico
(Tegucigalpa, D.C.).
Idem: Indice de Precios al Consumidor
(monthly).
Idem: Honduras en Cifras
(annual).
Idem: Indice General de Precios al Consumidor, Base
1978 = 100, Metodología y Series Cronológicas
(November
1982).