Question

The typical consumer's food basket in the base year 2015 is as follows: 30 chickens at $4 each 10 hams at $5 each 10 steaks at $8 each A chicken feed shortage causes the price of chickens to rise to $5.00 each in the year 2016. Hams rise to $7.00 each, and the price of steaks is unchanged. A. Calculate the change in the "cost-of-eating" index between 2015 and 2016. Year Cost of the basket 2015 $ 2016 $ Instructions: Enter your responses rounded to one decimal place. The official cost-of-eating index has by %. B. Suppose that consumers are completely indifferent between two chickens and one ham. For this example, how large is the substitution bias in the official "cost-of-eating" index? The in the cost-of-eating index is %. The of inflation in the cost of eating reflects substitution bias.

Answer 1

Answer:

A) change in the cost of eating index = 20% increase

B) Suppose that consumers are completely indifferent between two chickens and one ham. For this example, how large is the substitution bias in the official "cost-of-eating" index?

The INCREASE in the cost-of-eating index is 18 %.

The OVERESTIMATE of inflation in the cost of eating reflects substitution bias.

Explanation:

2015

product               units              unit cost               total

chickens              30                      $4                   $120

hams                    10                      $5                     $50

steaks                  10                      $8                     $80

total                                                                       $250

2016

product               units              unit cost               total

chickens              30                      $5                   $150

hams                    10                      $7                     $70

steaks                  10                      $8                     $80

total                                                                       $300

A) ($300 - $250) / $250 = 20%

B)

if consumers are indifferent for 2 chickens per 1 ham, then the new basket should be assuming consumers will purchase the cheapest option:

2016

product               units              unit cost               total

hams                    25                      $7                   $175

steaks                  10                      $8                     $80

total                                                                       $255

the increase in inflation would have been = ($255 - $250) / $250 = 2%

the substitution bias = reported inflation - real inflation = 20% - 2% = 18%