In: Economics
An economy produces and consumes four goods namely milo, rice, bread and sobolo. The prices and quantities of these goods over a three-year period are shown in the table below.
Table I: Prices and quantities of milo, rice, bread and sobolo goods over a 3-year period
Year |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
||||
Goods |
Price |
Quantity |
Price |
Quantity |
Price |
Quantity |
|
Milo |
GHC8.00 |
24 |
GHC9.50 |
24 |
GHC10.50 |
35 |
|
Rice |
GHC32.00 |
16 |
GHC34.00 |
16 |
GHC35.00 |
22 |
|
Bread |
GHC2.00 |
30 |
GHC3.00 |
30 |
GHC3.00 |
35 |
|
Sobolo |
GHC1.50 |
15 |
GHC2.00 |
15 |
GHC2.00 |
20 |
Question 2
Q2) a) i) The inflation rate between 2018 and 2019 is measured by calculating the consumer price index, CPI.
This index is calculated by dividing the value of the basket in the current year/value of basket in base value * 100,
base year = 2018, current year = 2019, basket quantity = 24 tins of milo, 16 bags of rice, 30 loaves of bread, 15 bottles of sobolo
value of basket = price * quantities,
Value of basket in 2018 = 24 * 9.5 + 16 * 34 + 30 * 3 + 15 * 2 = 892
Value of basket in 2019 = 24* 10.5 + 16 * 35 + 30 * 3 + 15 * 2 = 932
CPI = 932/892 * 100 = 104.48
So, the CPI = 100 in 2018 and CPI = 104.48 in 2019,
So, inflation rate between 2018 and 2019 = CPI in 2019 - CPI in 2018/CPI in 2018 * 100
= 104.48 - 100/100 * 100 = 4.48%
ii) The purchasing power is the value of a currency, in terms of the amount of goods or services that one unit of money can purchase.
The purchasing power of a current year is calculated by dividing the base year CPI by current year CPI * 100,
= CPI of 2018/CPI of 2019 * 100 = 100/104.48 * 100 = 95.7% ,
i.e. the purchasing power reduced by (100-95.7) 4.3% from the year 2018 to year 2019.