http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/2517150186

Outlet substitution bias in the Canadian consumer price index a case study

Since the early 1990s, increased attention has been focused on the possibility that the rate of inflation may be being overstated as a result of measurement biases in the estimation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). One source of this possible error is caused by outlet substitution bias. This type of distortion can result when consumers shift their patronage from one retail outlet to another. As superstores and warehouse type stores continue to open and capture a larger share of the market, the existing CPI sample could become increasingly unrepresentative. If the prices are lower at the new outlets and this decrease in costs is not accurately captured in the CPI, the index will exhibit an upward bias.

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