Macedonia, The former Yugoslav Rep. of
Official title
Cost of Living Index.
Scope
The index is computed and published monthly and covers
non-agricultural socio-economic group of households in Macedonia.
Official base
Previous year = 100. The index base is changed each calendar year.
Sources of weights
The weights are derived from the results of the annual household
income and expenditure survey. The survey is two-stage
probability sample survey with enumeration districts as primary
and households as secondary sampling units. It covers 1,050
households on quarterly basis. The survey provides nominal and
relative data concerning the value and structure of personal
consumption. Additional information is collected from retailers,
producers, traders and other sources.
The weights are revised every 5 years, and are corrected every
year for price changes.
Weights and composition
| Major groups
| Number of items
| Weights
| Approx. No. of price quotations
|
| Food | 109 | 4,134 | ...
|
| Tobacco and beverages | 12 | 608 | ...
|
| Clothing and footwear | 78 | 883 | ...
|
| Housing (rent, water and other) | 18 | 1,280 | ...
|
| Fuel and lighting | 13 | 958 | ...
|
| Household furnishing | 49 | 246 | ...
|
| Personal hygiene and health | 28 | 281 | ...
|
| Education, culture and recreation | 39 | 697 | ...
|
| Transport and communication | 38 | 914 | ...
|
| Total | 384 | 10,000 | ...
|
Classification is adapted to the SNA Classification of Household
Final Consumption Expenditure.
Household consumption expenditure
Household consumption expenditure covers:
- goods purchased at the market; new durable and non-durable
goods, except houses, apartments and purchases of tools and
special work clothing;
- purchases of market services.
Consumption expenditures do not cover elements of consumption
that are not purchased like consumption from own production,
social benefits in kind, domestic services produced for own
consumption, savings, membership fees and gifts. Non-market
services provided by the government and by non-profit
institutions for households are also excluded. Second hand
transactions are not included.
Sample selection
The most important goods and services, by volume and value, that
could reflect general changes in prices for goods and services
not included in the index are selected for pricing. The
selection process is combination of judgmental selection by
experts who have knowledge of the market and cut-off sampling
taking into account the items with the highest sales. The
outlets are selected according to the scope of their assortment
and turnover rate. The number of outlets for collecting the
prices in each city depends on the size of the city and nature of
the item. The selected outlets can not be replaced during the
year. The list of outlets and items is partly revised each year,
while detailed (complete) revision is carried out once in every
five years.
Method of data collection
The prices of the representative goods and services are collected
monthly, by specially trained price collectors, in 10,584 retail
outlets in 8 towns in the country. The observation time extends
from the 1st to the 20th day of the month. The price collectors
are obliged to record the prices of the same varieties that were
chosen at the beginning of the year. For the fresh fruit and
vegetable the lowest and highest price are collected. The number
of price quotation for each item depends on its price variation
and expenditure weight.
Housing
Three different situations related to the housing rent are recognised:
- The first is related to the rent for socially owned dwellings.
These rents are followed through a special research that covers 8
standard categories of dwellings in state ownership grouped
according to their location, category and age. This type of
ownership, as a result of privatisation, will disappear in the
near future.
- The situation is different in relation to the privately owned
dwellings that are rented on the open market at prices that are
several times higher than the rents paid by users of the socially
owned dwellings. Up to 1997 these rents have not been followed,
but during the years 1997 and 1998 an experimental follow up of
the prices of rented dwellings was initiated.
- The third case are the owner occupied dwellings. These
dwellings are not included in the index.
Specification of varieties
The representative items are defined by their most important
quality characteristics which are visible in the shops without
any deeper inquiry. Specifications of the item are reviewed at
the end of each year.
Substitution, quality changes
When one item disappears from the market for more than 3 months,
variety of the same item, which has the same specifications as
the first one, and which is the best sold in the same outlet, is
selected. The name, producer and other relevant information
about the new variety are registered in the questionnaire.
If price of a particular variety is not available in the current
month, the last observed price is carried forward (with remark
that it is imputed price). So, the number of prices used for the
indexes does not fall during the year.
Appearance of new products and disappearance of old products are
reviewed annually.
Seasonal items
Some items are subject to seasonal variation in their supply,
other are subject to seasonal variation in demand. Carry forward
imputations are made for prices during the off-season.
Computation
The index is computed according to the Laspeyres formula, as a
weighted arithmetic average with a fixed base, using weights
corresponding to the base period.
Average monthly prices for each item, in each of the 8 towns are
computed as a simple arithmetic mean of all prices collected in
the town. Average monthly price for the country is computed as a
weighted arithmetic mean of the average prices by towns. Weights
which are used, represent structure of the retail turnover of the
item in the country by towns.
The annual average prices for
non-seasonal items are computed as a simple arithmetic mean of 12
average monthly prices, while annual average prices for seasonal
fruits and vegetable are computed as weighted arithmetic mean
using monthly variable weights.
Other information
Statistical Office of Macedonia computes two types of price
Indexes: Cost of living index (CLI) and Retail Price Index. RPI
shows the inflationary trends in the sphere of retail sale, while
CLI in the sphere of consumption. The average prices used to
calculate the RPI are the same as those used for the CLI. The
main difference between the CLI and RPI is the weighting system
used. Weights used for the calculation of the RPI represent the
structure of retail turnover in the country.
Weights and composition of RPI:
| Major groups | Number of items | Weights | Approx. No. of price
quotation
|
| Food and non-alcoholic beverages | 122 | 2,183 | 3,115
|
| Tobacco and beverages | 11 | 418 | 332
|
| Clothing and footwear | 78 | 811 | 2,168
|
| Housing (rent, water and other) | 34 | 1,825 | 809
|
| Fuel and lighting | 9 | 626 | 67
|
| Furniture | 68 | 785 | 1,618
|
| Personal hygiene and healthcare | 42 | 427 | 1,013
|
| Education, culture and recreation | 44 | 608 | 860
|
| Transport and communications | 51 | 2,317 | 584
|
| Total | 459 | 10,000 | 10,584
|
RPI classification is adapted to the COICOP classification.
Organisation and publication
Statistical Office, Republic of Macedonia
Statistical Yearbook
,
Monthly Statistical Bulletin
,
Publication Prices