Sri Lanka (Colombo)
Official title
Consumer Price Index.
Scope
The index is compiled monthly and covers manual workers' families in
Colombo.
Official base
1952 = 100.
Source of weights
The weights and selected items were derived from a household expenditure
survey conducted in 1949-50, covering 455 manual workers' families in
Colombo. The expenditure data obtained from this survey were revalued
at 1959 prices to determine the weights.
Weights and composition
| Major groups
| Number of items
| Weights
| Approximate number of price quotations
|
| Food
| 94 | 61.9 | ...
|
| Fuel and light
| 4 | 4.3 | ...
|
| Rent
| 1 | 5.7 | ...
|
| Clothing, footwear and household linen
| 63 | 9.4 | ...
|
| Miscellaneous
| 57 | 18.7 | ...
|
| Total
| 219 | 100.0 | ...
|
Household consumption expenditure
Consumption expenditure for the purpose of the index includes all goods
and services purchased for consumption by the index population. It
excludes life insurance, property insurance, income tax and personal
property taxes.
Method of data collection
Prices are collected each week by investigators from
the Department of Census
and Statistics from selected retail stores and establishments in the
seven principal market areas in Colombo. Prices for most food items are
ascertained through direct buying. Items sold in the open market and
in co-operatives are priced. A weighted average of prices is
calculated, with weights assigned in proportion to the estimated
quantities sold in the two groups of stores.
The prices used in the index are the prices actually paid. Discount
and sale prices are used. Hire-purchase or credit terms, second-hand
purchase and trade-in of used goods are not collected.
Housing
Data on house rent are collected every three months for 148
working-class houses and from the assessment registers of the municipal
authorities. Imputed rent is used for owner-occupied housing.
Specification of varieties
Detailed specifications are provided for each item included in the
index. Specification provide a complete description of the item, its
brand, country of origin, quality and unit.
Substitution, quality change, etc.
If a product is not available, a similar product to the original is
substituted and a method of linking is used in the calculation.
Seasonal items
Fresh fruit and vegetables are regarded as seasonal items, which
are priced when they are available during the season. The closing
prices for the previous season are maintained during the off season.
Computation
The index is computed according to the Laspeyres formula as a weighted
arithmetic average with fixed base, using weights corresponding to the
expenditure data for 1949-50, revalued at 1959 prices.
Organisation and publication
The index is compiled by the Department of Census and Statistics
(Colombo).
Department of Government Printing: The Gazette of the Republic
of Sri Lanka
(Colombo).
Government Publications Bureau: A New Consumers' Price
Index
, Sessional Paper VI, 1953 (Colombo).
Idem: Report of Committee to Revise the Cost of Living Index
,
Sessional Paper XI, 1959 (Colombo).