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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/15022 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Yu, Kam |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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