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Abstract:
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The Consumer Price Index program was initiated during World War I, when rapid increases in prices, particularly in shipbuilding centers, made such an index essential for calculating a cost of living adjustment to wages. Originally designed to measure cost-of-living of laborers in highly industrialized centers, the population scope of the index has evolved and expanded over time. This paper summarizes the historical changes in the population coverage of the CPI and compares and contrasts the socio-economic characteristics of the 'wage-earner' and 'urban' population cohorts. Household spending patterns are distinguished across various occupational groups, and subsequent impact on price change examined.
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