Addressing misconceptions about the Consumer Price Index
"...The article begins with a brief background section on what the CPI is, how it is used, and what some of its major methodological changes have been. Three measurement issues that have been the subject of greatest misunderstanding—consumer substitution, quality adjustment, and homeownership costs—arethen discussed, followed by reviews of two issues that relate to almost all current commentary on the CPI: the specification of a “core” index and the differences between the CPI and perceived inflation. The penultimate section specifically addresses a widely cited estimate of presumed upward bias resulting from BLS methods, and the article ends with some summary remarks."