Index Numbers and Consistency in Aggregation: Part I

There are many formulae for the index numbers used to compute price and quantity indices, such as a consumer price index or a volume index of imports, in economics. The Laspeyres, Paasche, Divisia, and Fisher indices are the best known of these formulae. A body of theory examines the criteria that can be used to decide which formula to use in a particular application. One important property is