Providing a valuable resource for government economists, academics, and research libraries, this volume contains twelve papers by Robert Pollak--four previously unpublished--that explore the theory of the cost of living index. In addition to Pollak's classic paper, "The Theory of the Cost of Living Index," the volume includes papers on subindexes, the intertemporal cost of living index, welfare comparisons and equivalence scales, the social cost of living index, the treatment of "quality," and consumer durables in the cost of living index.

The theory of the cost of living index; Subindexes of the cost of living index; The intertemporal cost of living index; Welfare evaluation and the cost of living index in the household production model; Welfare comparisons and equivalence scales; Group cost of living indexes; The social cost of living index; The treatment of "Quality" in the cost of living index; The treatment of the environment in the cost of living index; Consumer durables in a cost of living index; Mortgage interest rates in the CPI; The treatment of taxes in the consumer price index