This thesis investigates several theoretical and practical problems in index numbers. In Chapter 2 a hedonic elementary price index for accessing the Internet in Canada is constructed. We find that the quality-adjusted price index declines at about 15% per year. Detailed data are readily available on-line. We discuss the use of different functional forms in the regression, their ease of use and performance, and compare the result with the matched model approach. Problems in using the Box-Cox transformation and in handling packages with unlimited access are also discussed. Chapter 3 studies the problems associated with the treatment of seasonal commodities in a consumer price index. Economic assumptions behind various commonly used methods are examined from the cost-of-living perspective. A new theoretical justification based on the theory of preference change is provided for the maximum overlap method. Empirical studies using a particular data set show that indices based on various approaches give substantially different results. Direct measurement techniques have recently been employed by some statistical agencies for government output components in the SNA. These methods use proxies and indicators for outputs due to the inherent lack of market valuations. Chapter 4 investigates the pros and cons of these new approaches and compares them with the traditional cost method. This leads us to take a deeper look at the purposes, objectives, and uses of the SNA. The current method can be justified from a collective household point of view, but the lack of direct output data frustrates students of productivity analysis. By taking the economic approach in index number theory, some direct measurement methods can be compatible with the cost-of-living approach in the CPI. Using implicit expected utility theory, a money metric for utility derived from playing a lottery game is developed in Chapter 5. Using a kinked parametric functional form, outputs of the Canadian Lotto 6/49 are estimated. Results show that this direct economic approach yields an average output three times that of the official GDP. The estimated price elasticity of demand -0.67 closely resembles results for the U.K. in previous studies.

Thesis (PH. D.)--Columbia University, 1926. / Vita. Published also as Teachers College, Columbia University, Contributions to education, no. 208. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. "Selected bibliography": p. 31-35.

Thesis (PH. D.)--Johns Hopkins University. / From the Journal of political economy Dec., 1901, March, 1902. Cover-title bound at end of volume. Cover title.

This thesis investigates several theoretical and practical problems in index numbers. In Chapter 2 a hedonic elementary price index for accessing the Internet in Canada is constructed. We find that the quality-adjusted price index declines at about 15% per year. Detailed data are readily available on-line. We discuss the use of different functional forms in the regression, their ease of use and performance, and compare the result with the matched model approach. Problems in using the Box-Cox transformation and in handling packages with unlimited access are also discussed. Chapter 3 studies the problems associated with the treatment of seasonal commodities in a consumer price index. Economic assumptions behind various commonly used methods are examined from the cost-of-living perspective. A new theoretical justification based on the theory of preference change is provided for the maximum overlap method. Empirical studies using a particular data set show that indices based on various approaches give substantially different results. Direct measurement techniques have recently been employed by some statistical agencies for government output components in the SNA. These methods use proxies and indicators for outputs due to the inherent lack of market valuations. Chapter 4 investigates the pros and cons of these new approaches and compares them with the traditional cost method. This leads us to take a deeper look at the purposes, objectives, and uses of the SNA. The current method can be justified from a collective household point of view, but the lack of direct output data frustrates students of productivity analysis. By taking the economic approach in index number theory, some direct measurement methods can be compatible with the cost-of-living approach in the CPI. Using implicit expected utility theory, a money metric for utility derived from playing a lottery game is developed in Chapter 5. Using a kinked parametric functional form, outputs of the Canadian Lotto 6/49 are estimated. Results show that this direct economic approach yields an average output three times that of the official GDP. The estimated price elasticity of demand -0.67 closely resembles results for the U.K. in previous studies. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1931. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 199-211).

Presented as part of Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1931. / Collective title from added t.p. Part 1 reprinted from Quarterly journal of economics, vol. XLVII (Nov. 1932), p. 36-62 -- Part 2 reprinted from Journal of the American Statistical Association, Mar. 1931, p. [36]-40 -- Part 3 reprinted from The economic journal : the quarterly journal of the Royal Economic Society, vol. XLII, no. 165 (Mar. 1932), p. [17]-26 -- Part 4 reprinted from Journal of the American Statistical Association, vol. 31 (June 1936), p. 258-272. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis: M.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1975 / Bibliography: leaves 86-87. / by Peter F. Hollings and George Raff. / M.S. / M.S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management

The effectiveness of monetary policy in achieving its macroeconomic objectives such as price stability and economic growth depend on the monetary policy tools that are implemented by the Central Bank. Monetary aggregates are one of the tools that have been used as indicators of economic activity and as intermediate targets to achieve these economic objectives. Until recently, monetary aggregates have been questioned and criticised on their usefulness in monetary policy. This has been attributed to the economic, financial and technological developments that have distorted the relationship between monetary aggregates and major macroeconomic variables. This study investigates the relevance of monetary aggregation by comparing the traditional simple sum and Divisia index monetary aggregates which was constructed for the first time for South Africa using the Tornquist-Theil method. The Polynomial Distributed Lag model is employed to compare the performance of these monetary aggregates using their relationship with inflation and manufacturing index. Furthermore, the aggregates are compared in terms of their controllability and information content. Overall, the study found a very strong relationship between inflation and all the monetary aggregates. However, more specifically the results suggested that the Divisia indices are superior to the simple sum in terms of predicting inflation. The evidence further suggests that the Divisia aggregates provide higher information about inflation than the simple sum aggregates. Regarding the controllability of the monetary aggregates, the findings suggest that the monetary authorities can hardly control the monetary aggregates using monetary base. Finally, the relationship between manufacturing index and all the monetary aggregates was very weak.