Liberia (Monrovia)
Official title
Consumer Price Index.
Scope
The index is compiled monthly and covers wage earners' and clerical
employees' households of two or more persons and with a monthly income
not exceeding 250 dollars during October-December 1963. The
index relates to the capital city, Monrovia.
Official base
September-November 1964 = 100.
Source of weights
The weights and selected items were derived from a household expenditure
survey conducted in Monrovia during October-December 1963 among a sample
of wage earners' and clerical employees' households of two or more
persons and with a monthly income not exceeding 250 dollars at the time
of the survey. The weights were adjusted according to a limited
expenditure survey conducted in June 1964 to take account of the time
lag between the two surveys.
Weights and composition
| Major groups
| Number of items
| Weights
| Approximate number of price quotations
|
| Food
| 32 | 34.4 | ...
|
| Beverages and tobacco
| 6 | 5.7 | ...
|
| Fuel and light
| 3 | 5.0 | ...
|
| Rent
| 1 | 14.9 | ...
|
| Clothing and footwear
| 14 | 13.8 | ...
|
| Household goods and furniture
| 7 | 6.1 | ...
|
| Health, personal care and services
| 9 | 11.4 | ...
|
| Miscellaneous
| 7 | 8.7 | ...
|
| Total
| 79 | 100.0 | 188
|
Household consumption expenditure
Consumption expenditure for the purpose of the index includes all goods
and services purchased for consumption by the index population. It
includes licence fees, health and legal services, entertainment and
other services. Income in kind, credit purchases, life insurance,
property insurance, income tax and personal property taxes are excluded.
Method of data collection
Prices are collected by agents from 18 stores, two markets and 14
service establishments.
Prices for food are collected twice a month. Prices for drinks
and tobacco, fuel and light, clothing, household goods and furniture
are ascertained once a month. Price data for medical care and school
fees are collected once a year.
Items sold in non-standardised units, e.g. pile, each, bunch, etc. are
weighted and then adjusted to conform to the base period weight.
The prices used to calculate the index are the retail prices actually
paid by consumers. Discounts, sale and other abnormal prices are not
taken into account.
Housing
Rent quotations are collected twice a year, in January and July,
from about 100 dwellings. Owner-occupied housing is not included
in the index.
Specification of varieties
Detailed specifications are provided for each item included in
the index. Specifications provide a complete description of
the item, its brand, size, unit of quantity material, trade mark,
etc.
Substitution, quality change, etc.
If a product is no longer available on the market, a similar
product to the original is substituted and a method of linking
is used.
Seasonal items
Seasonal fluctuations in the prices of certain items are taken into
account by maintaining the closing prices for the previous season 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 June 1964.
The relatives of average prices for the current and base periods are
used to calculate item indices. Average prices
are simple arithmetic means of all price quotations obtained.
A missing price for an item is dealt with by using the last
price reported for the item.
Organisation and publication
National Planning Agency, Bureau of Statistics: Statistical
Newsletter
(Monrovia).
Idem: Quarterly Statistical Bulletin
.
Idem: Economic Survey of Liberia
.
Idem: Results of the study related to the Consumer Price
Index for Monrovia
, Methodological Series No. 1 (1964).