Greenlees says the BLS is better at adding a new item that supplants an existing one, say, a new car model. Quality adjustment is another problem. This problem is especially acute in medical care. The Boskin Commission, set up in 1996 to examine the consumer price index, highlighted these problems and more. Kenneth V. Dalton, associate commissioner for prices and living conditions, says the BLS was working hard to fix them even before the Boskin report.
Economists applaud the efforts so far.
But Dalton would like to intensify efforts to improve the CPI's quality-adjustment process. This wish list, of course, depends on unlimited funds. But the BLS recognizes that its monthly budget can buy only so much. Which, in a way, is one of the lessons of the CPI, as well. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.