Vanuatu
Official title
Consumer Price Index - Low-Income Group Families.
Scope
The index is compiled quarterly and covers low-income group
families living in urban areas, with monthly income of the head of
the family of less than 20,000 FNH in 1975.
Official base
January-March 1976 = 100.
Source of weights
The weights and selected items were derived from a household expenditure
survey conducted during the first quarter of 1975 among 220 households
in Vila and in Santo (Luganville).
Weights and composition
| Major groups
| Number of items
| Weights
| Approximate number of price quotations
|
| Food
| ... | 45.8 | ...
|
| Beverages and tobacco
| ... | 10.1 | ...
|
| Clothing and footwear
| ... | 14.1 | ...
|
| Rent, fuel, light and water
| ... | 2.2 | ...
|
| Furniture, furnishings, household goods and services
| ... | 8.0 | ...
|
| Transport and communication
| ... | 9.8 | ...
|
| Health, education and recreation
| ... | 10.0 | ...
|
| Total
| ... | 100.0 | ...
|
Household consumption expenditure
Consumption expenditure for the purpose of the index comprises
all goods and services purchased for consumption by the index
population. It excludes income taxes, investments, savings and
personal loans.
Method of data collection
Prices are collected around the middle of each month in Santo and
around the middle of each quarter in Vila, from selected retail
outlets and service establishments.
The prices used to calculate the index are the normal
prices paid by consumers.
Housing
Not available.
Specification of varieties
Item specifications are given in terms of
brand, make, quality and size.
Substitution, quality change, etc.
If an item is not available in an outlet, a similar item is substituted.
Seasonal items
Not available.
Computation
The index is computed according to the Laspeyres formula as a
weighted arithmetic average with fixed base, using weights
corresponding to the first quarter of 1975.
Price relatives for the current and previous periods are used to
compute item indices.
Other information
A new series relating to all urban households in Vanuatu is now computed
(base January-March 1990 = 100), but the relevant methodological
information was not available in the ILO at the time the present volume
was published.
Organisation and publication
National Planning and Statistics Office: Statistical
Bulletin
(Port Vila).