On 20 and 21 April 2006 the Irving Fisher Committee on Central-Bank Statistics (IFC) organised a workshop on “CPI Measurement: Central Banks Views and Concerns” at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland. Experts from 26 major central banks around the world as well as from the International Monetary Fund reviewed and evaluated developments with respect to CPI measurement from the perspective of monetary policy makers.
The workshop consisted of a number of sessions, focusing on particular themes. Session 1 looked at international methodological standards for the calculation of CPI as well as at national practices. Session 2 focused on inflation measures from the perspective of monetary policy. In session 3, the measurement of housing services in the CPI was discussed whilst session 4 examined how quality adjustments could appropriately be dealt with. Session 5 identified other measurement issues of concern to central banks and session 6 focused on measures of core or underlying inflation. In session 7 the question was addressed as to whether it was possible to quantify the measurement bias in CPIs. Finally, session 8 discussed central bank input intonational and international discussions on CPI methodology. For each session, a background issue paper had been prepared and various “lead interveners” introduced the respective topics under discussion. In some cases, additional background papers were submitted. These documents, as well as a summary of the general discussion in each session are included in this special volume of the IFC Bulletin. An annotated list of references as well as some other background material collected for the workshop are also included.