Overview
- Timely research amidst controversy surrounding the measurement of inflation in the UK
- Summarises inflation measurement before the RPI from 1700-1955
- Documents the origins and development of the RPI
- Explains the events that led to the loss of the RPI’s National Statistics status
- Summarises the steps taken to move away from the RPI for its many uses
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Table of contents (7 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
This Palgrave Pivot reviews the history of the UK's Retail Prices Index (RPI) from its origins just after the Second World War to its controversial position today. Both the developments in the methodology of the index and the political and social context in which its development took place are closely examined. The authors explain how the RPI went from being the dominant measure of inflation for decades to its current position as an officially discredited index. Despite this status, it is still widely used and attracts much support from a range of stakeholders, including several areas of government.
Important reading for anyone interested in both sides of the argument for and against RPI and the likely way forward for the measurement of inflation.
Authors and Affiliations
About the authors
Jeff Ralph is a visiting academic at the University of Southampton, UK. He worked for the Office for National Statistics, UK, for 14 years, retiring in 2018. Much of that time was spent working on price statistics and the measurement of inflation; this included research and teaching. He has been joint author on a number of research papers and co-author of books on index numbers and inflation measurement.
Robert O’Neill is Lecturer in Economics at the University of Manchester, UK, where he has been since the start of 2020. Previously he was Senior Lecturer in Economics at Huddersfield University, UK and before that he worked at the Office for National Statistics. His current role involves both research and teaching related to quantitative economics, which includes teaching students at various levels.
Paul A. Smith is Professor of Official Statistics at the University of Southampton, UK. He previously worked for 25 years at the Office for NationalStatistics, UK, where he gained extensive experience in the theory and practice of sample surveys applied to businesses, households and the population census. He undertakes consultancy and research in topics related to official statistics, and coordinates the MSc in Official Statistics.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Retail Prices Index
Book Subtitle: A Short History
Authors: Jeff Ralph, Robert O'Neill, Paul A. Smith
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46563-6
Publisher: Palgrave Pivot Cham
eBook Packages: Economics and Finance, Economics and Finance (R0)
Copyright Information: The Author(s) 2020
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-46562-9Published: 01 July 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-46565-0Published: 01 July 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-46563-6Published: 30 June 2020
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIX, 137
Number of Illustrations: 3 b/w illustrations
Topics: Economic Theory/Quantitative Economics/Mathematical Methods, Personal Finance/Wealth Management/Pension Planning, History of Economic Thought/Methodology, Economic History, Macroeconomics/Monetary Economics//Financial Economics, Political Economy/Economic Systems