Montserrat
Official title
Consumer Price Index.
Scope
The index is compiled monthly and relates to the whole population.
Official base
September 1982 = 100.
Source of weights
The weights and selected items were derived from a household expenditure
survey conducted during two weeks in 1980 among a random sample of 400
households. The weights were not adjusted to take account of price
changes between 1980 and 1982. The weights of items not included in the
index were distributed among the items included.
Weights and composition
| Major groups
| Number of items
| Weights
| Approximate number of price quotations
|
| Food
| 73 | 495 | ...
|
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco
| 9 | 46 | ...
|
| Household goods
| 37 | 102 | ...
|
| Gas, electricity, water
| 3 | 18 | ...
|
| Rent
| 3 | 7 | ...
|
| Clothing and footwear
| 43 | 179 | ...
|
| Services and others
| 34 | 153 | ...
|
| Total
| 202 | 1000 | ...
|
Household consumption expenditure
This includes car licence fees and car insurance.
It excludes income tax, contributions to social insurance and pension
funds, remittances, gifts and similar disbursements.
Method of data collection
Prices are collected on the 15th of each month by agents from selected
retail outlets and service establishments in Plymouth.
The prices used to calculate the index are the retail prices
paid. Discount and sale prices are not taken into account.
Housing
Rent quotations are obtained each month for three types of furnished
dwellings. Owner-occupied housing is not included in the index.
Specification of varieties
The specifications of items to be priced are given in terms of the brand
name, make, quality, unit and size, etc.
Substitution, quality change, etc.
No account is taken of quality changes.
Seasonal items
No account is taken of seasonal fluctuations in item prices.
Computation
The index is computed according to the Laspeyres formula as a weighted
arithmetic average with fixed base, using weights corresponding to 1980.
Organisation and publication
Government of Montserrat, Statistics Office: Montserrat Statistical
Digest
(Plymouth).
Idem: Cost of living report
.