The items were selected according to their weight in household budgets, as well as their suitability for price observation over time.
The weights of items which were not included because of their small share in household expenditures were allocated to similar items. The value of items not included for political reasons (cigarettes, tobacco and hard liquor, and certain services closely linked to sliding wage scales) was discarded before the calculation of total consumption expenditure.
:hp4.Weights and composition:ehp4.
Major groups | Number of items | Weights | Approximate number of price quotations |
---|---|---|---|
Food | 91 | 205.2 | 2175 |
Clothing and footwear | 42 | 131.1 | 800 |
Housing, fuel and light | 11 | 137.0 | 600 |
Furniture, furnishings and household equipment | 39 | 100.8 | 700 |
Medical care | 27 | 81.9 | 300 |
Transport and communications | 24 | 148.6 | 275 |
Education and leisure | 37 | 79.9 | 700 |
Other goods and services | 32 | 115.5 | 850 |
Total | 303 | 100.0 | 6400 |
expenditure, i.e. only sums actually disbursed by the household during the period of observation, was used. The value of households' consumption of their own production and the rental value of owner-occupied dwellings were excluded.
On the other hand, the non reimbursed portion of health care costs and employers' and workers' contributions for benefits in kind were included in computing the weights for health care expenditure.
In computing the weights for insurance services,
the premium had to be separated from the amount corresponding to the
price paid for the purchase of the insurance service itself. Over a
long period, the difference between the premiums collected and benefits
paid for covered risks represents the cost of the insurance service.
The ten-year ratio between this difference and the total of premiums
paid is considered as household expenditure on insurance. This
method was used to determine the weights for the insurance
item.
Prices for fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and flowers are obtained three times a month.
Official tariffs are obtained from the relevant national or local
authorities for electricity, heating oil, water, medical care (medical
and paramedical fees and hospital charges) and certain items under
Transport and Communications
(petrol, railway and bus services,
postage, telephone). The price of the transaction (the total price) is
always used in computing the index, regardless of the form of payment
or the conditions for reimbursement by social security schemes (as
regards health care expenditures).
Public education is free of charge. To the extent that certain representative items may not be free, the price paid by the consumer is used in computing the index.
Reduced prices, discounts and rebates are used in computing the index provided the products concerned are available to all consumers in substantial quantities for a period of at least one month, and have the same characteristics as the usual products.
Clearance sale prices are not used, since sales are limited by regulation to 15 days and, furthermore, do not meet the other conditions established for reduced prices.
The prices collected are those quoted on the index reference date, i.e. the first of the month, regardless of the form of payment agreed between buyer and seller.
Second-hand purchases and trade-in of used goods are not taken into account in the index.
The prices used are the final consumer prices to households. Intermediate prices, if any, are not taken into account.
Rent data are collected from individual renters twice a year, with one sixth of the sample surveyed each month. Rent data are collected by telephone (occasionally by mail). The rent index (two separate items: apartment rent and house rent) is the arithmetic average of specific indices computed for each dwelling in the two samples.
Owner-occupied dwellings are not included in the index (as regards expenditure items).
In future, the goods and services basket will be reviewed every five years. In the interval, its composition remains constant. Nevertheless, if a new product comes on to the market and is widely consumed, it is incorporated in the index by a linking method as a representative variety of an item in the basket.
If an item or quality disappears from the market, it is replaced by another with similar characteristics, ideally in the same outlet. If the new variety is of the same brand and fills the same consumer needs, it is included in the index with account taken of any parallel price variation. If the new variety has basically different characteristics (including customer service), or if it carries another brand name, it is included in the index as a replacement using a linking method.
Other seasonal items that are not available year-round remain in the index out of season, at the same price as was last quoted, pending their reappearance on the market.
Price relatives for the current and base periods are used to compute item indices.
Indicateurs rapides du STATEC, série A1, Indice des prix à la consommation(Luxembourg).
Idem: Cahier économique du STATEC no. 81, Le nouvel indice
des prix à la consommation, Réforme de 1990/91
.
Idem: Note de conjoncture
(quarterly).
Idem: Annuaire statistique
.