EFTA hosts CPI workshop in Brussels

From 4 to 6 November, EFTA hosted a workshop at EFTA House in Brussels on the utilisation and integration of new data sources for the Consumer Price Index, in close cooperation with the Federal Statistical Office of Switzerland, Statistics Norway and Eurostat.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a key measure of inflation and economic stability. It tracks how the prices of everyday goods and services change over time, and how living costs shift for consumers. To compile the CPI, statisticians, economists and policymakers need reliable and consistent data.

Data collection is one of the major challenges in compiling the CPI. Price data are collected from shops and other retail outlets, but in exceptional economic circumstances, traditional collection methods can be unreliable. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the need for more resilient and flexible methodologies for collecting data.

The availability of new data sources for the CPI presents opportunities for developing innovative methods for its compilation. However, the integration of multiple data sources in the CPI also presents challenges in combining price data from different sources and indices compiled in different ways.

These challenges and opportunities were explored during the workshop, which focused on the following topics:

• New data sources and collection methods for the CPI
• Scanner data
• Web prices and web scraping
• Administrative data sources
• Methodological developments
• Classification of goods and services in the CPI
• Communication of the CPI

The workshop included presentations by the organising institutions, Eurostat and various national statistical offices, as well as group work to allow the participants to share ideas and exchange experiences.

Experts from Denmark, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Norway, the Palestinian Authority, Switzerland and Eurostat attended the workshop in person, with EFTA financing the participation of experts from its partner countries in the European Neighbourhood Policy South region. The workshop formed part of the 2025 EFTA Work Programme for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Statistics approved by the EFTA Council at the beginning of the year.

The EFTA Secretariat would like to thank the participants and speakers for their valuable contributions to the workshop.

Photos

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