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Measuring What We Spend Toward a New Consumer Expenditure Survey (2013) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction and Overview
Pages 15-20

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From page 15...
... , an overview of BLS' recent efforts to improve the quality of the data collected in that survey, and the context within which this study was framed. BACKGROUND OF THE CONSUMER EXPENDITURE SURVEYS The CE is the "only Federal survey[s]
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From page 16...
... , director of the Consumer Expenditure Survey Division in BLS, said in a presentation to the June 2010 CE Data Users' Needs Forum that the purpose of the CE is "to collect, produce, and disseminate information that presents a statistical picture of consumer spending for the Consumer Price Index, government agencies, and private data users." Since the 1980 makeover, BLS has improved the basic survey design of the CE (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1983, 1997)
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From page 17...
... CONTEXT FOR THIS STUDY In 2009, perceived decline in the quality of data collected spurred BLS to embark upon a concentrated effort to study and understand the potential sources of error in the CE. Known as the Gemini Project, this multiyear project seeks both to understand the potential causes of the decline in CE data quality and to design improvements that would reduce measurement error.
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From page 18...
... Historically, the primary use of the CE data has been for the BLS' CPI, a Principal Federal Economic Indicator of the United States. The CPI program uses the CE data to produce the budget shares for each of 211 expenditure items, and the CE collects detailed expenditures for more than 800 items used in the construction of the budget shares.
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From page 19...
... In particular, the panel has considered redesign options that, while supporting the CPI, do not provide the full breadth of detailed expenditures currently supplied by the CE to the CPI. Remaining is the need to provide a complete picture of spending, income, and assets for each household, and to capture data for a constant period of time and at a minimum of twice while the household is in the survey sample.
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From page 20...
... As expressed in these recommendations, the panel urges BLS to prioritize the uses of CE data, to create a roadmap for a redesign, and to conduct targeted research to ensure that any new effort is both workable and effective. Appendix A contains a dissent statement from three panel members followed by a response by the majority of the panel.
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Key Terms

  • consumer expenditure
  • budget shares
  • expenditure surveys
  • redesign options
  • consumer price

  • data requirements
  • price index
  • bls consumer
  • consumer expenditures
  • data users

  • michael horrigan
  • penditure survey
  • complete picture
  • detailed expenditures
  • potential sources

  • private data
  • accounts data
  • entitled consumer
  • data quality
  • expenditure categories

  • cpi budget
  • expenditure survey
  • capture data
  • data producer
  • annual expenditure

  • consumer spending
  • microlevel data
  • cpi data
  • bls recognized
  • multiple time


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