Chapter 2 The data of Macroeconomics宏观经济学的数据讲义.ppt

In this CPI, 2009 is the base year. The index tells us how much it costs now to buy 5 apples and 2 oranges relative to how much it cost to buy the same basket of fruit in 2009. Chapter 2 * The consumer price index is the most closely watched index of prices, but it is not the only such index. Another is the producer price index, which measures the price of a typical basket of goods bought by firms rather than consumers. In addition to these overall price indexes, the Bureau of Labor Statistics computes price indexes for specific types of goods, such as food, housing, and energy. Chapter 2 * Another statistic, sometimes called core inflation, measures the increase in price of a consumer basket that excludes food and energy products. Because food and energy prices exhibit substantial short-run volatility, core inflation is sometimes viewed as a better gauge of ongoing inflation trends. ongoing adj. 不间断的，进行的；前进的 n. 前进；行为，举止 Chapter 2 * The CPI Versus the GDP Deflator Earlier in this chapter we saw another measure of prices—the implicit price deflator for GDPGDP的隐含物价平减指数, which is the ratio of nominal GDP to real GDP. The GDP deflator and the CPI give somewhat different information about what’s happening to the overall level of prices in the economy. There are three key differences between the two measures. Chapter 2 * The first difference is that the GDP deflator measures the prices of all goods and services produced, whereas the CPI measures the prices of only the goods and services bought by consumers. Thus, an increase in the price of goods bought only by firms or the government will show up in the GDP deflator but not in the CPI. Chapter 2 * The second difference is that the GDP deflator includes only those goods produced domestically. Imported goods are not part of GDP and do not show up in the GDP deflator. Hence, an increase in the price of a Toyota made in Japan and sold in this（美国） country affects the CPI, because the Toyota is bought by consu