PRICE　INDICES

BRIEF INTRODUCTION

I. The data on the price indices in this chapter show the changing trend and the change rates in production, circulation, consumption and investment, etc., including mainly consumer price indices of residents, retail price indices, price indices of agricultural means of production, purchasing price indices of farm products, producers price indices of industrial products, purchasing price indices of raw materials, fuels and power, and price indices of investment in fixed assets.

II. The statistics of price indices is organized by the Urban Socio-economic Survey Organization, NBS. The urban socio-economic survey organizations of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government as well as the urban socio-economic survey organizations of the selected cities and counties collect statistical data from the grassroots units in accordance with the scheme of price survey stipulated by the NBS, tabulate them and report them to the higher agencies.

III. The data for calculation of the consumer price indices of residents and the retail price indices in China are collected with the stratified sampling method. Areas distributed in different economic regions are selected as the sample areas and the representative commodities are selected as the sample commodities. Regular surveys are conducted to collect the data on the market prices. The data on the population are estimated on the basis of the sample. At present, 226 cities and counties have been selected for this purpose. Following are major steps in the process of calculation of the price indices:

(1) The selection of the areas and places for survey: Based on such principles as regional economic features and reasonable geographic distribution, representative sample areas for the national survey are selected which include large, medium and small cities and counties. When the sample areas are selected, large-scale shops and markets (including fairs) with great varieties of commodities are selected as the survey places.

(2) The selection of the representative commodities and their specifications or varieties: The representative commodities are the commodities consumed in large quantity and representative in price changes. The representative specifications or varieties are determined according to the data on the retail sales of commodities and the account data of the residents of 36 thousand urban households and 67 thousand rural households, following the related instructions for selection. In principle, only those specifications or varieties of the commodities can be selected: (1) They are closely related to the social production and people's livelihood; (2) They are sold in large quantities (or big values); (3) They are stable in the market supply; (4) The changes of their prices are representative in trend; (5) There is great difference among the specifications or varieties selected.

(3) Survey way: Enumerators are sent to the survey places to take the records of the prices. Nearly 10 thousand assistant enumerators are invited to assist the survey work.

(4) The determination of the weights: The weights for calculation of the retail price indices are determined according to the total retail sales of commodities. The weights for calculation of the consumer price indices are determined according to the composition of the consumption expenditures of more than 90 thousand urban and rural households.

IV. The data for the calculation of the price indices of industrial products are collected by the key unit survey. The data for the calculation of the price indices of the investment in fixed assets are collected by the survey on key units and typical units. The coverage of the survey includes the industrial and construction enterprises and construction units.