Cybercafes in, telegraph out in Greek price basket

Cybercafes in, telegraph out in Greek price basket July 30, 2006

Posted by grhomeboy in Living.
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Internet cafes will replace telegraph services in an upcoming revision to Greece’s consumer price inflation basket, a government statistician said.

Every five years, Greece’s statisticians revise the list of goods and services that make up the official basket used to measure the change in consumer prices.

But the relatively long gap between revisions mean that the basket also charts changes in Greek lifestyles and tastes. For example, manicures, cafe espresso and home exercise equipment are all making their debut.

And telegraph services have definitely been phased out.

“I mean, really, who sends a telegram these days,” said the government statistician, who declined to be named.

Also gone will be video cassettes, some hard to find fruits and the increasingly rare three-spined stickleback fish.

Government statisticians expect the revisions to shave 0.1 to 0.2 percent off the inflation rate. Last year, Greek inflation rose 3.5 percent, the second highest rate in the euro zone.

According to statistical rules, the more time that passes from the base year of an index, the more that index tends to overstate the change.

The changes are expected to be formally announced May 12, and will take effect with the April inflation data to be released the same day.