CO129-599-2 Salaries Commission- 1947 Report 1-1-1947 - 31-12-1949 — Page 73

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(a) that in the time available it had not been

possible properly to examine and verify the returns of income and expenditure submitted; a need which had been the first lesson learnt from the University's earlier experiment;

(b)

(c)

that we had grave doubts about the justificat- ion of the system of weights used;

that the effect of the omission of all consideration of the fact cr of rent in the second survoy had the effect of producing an oxaggeration in the deduction on the cost of living to which the index lod: a form of error, the danger of which was clearly indicated by the Statistical Officer and for which he suggested in a later note appended to his roport, a tentative correction. Our caution in using the results of the surveys is justified b. the opinion of one of our most valuable witnesses who wrote:

"The Report (S.0.3/47) on an "Inquiry into the Cost of Living of Asiatic and Portuguese Clerical and Skilled Technical Employees", prepared by the Statistical Branch of the Colonial Secretariat, provided useful data in regard to the range of certain retail prices in January-lard: 1939 and January-March 1947. For reasons given in the Report no attempt was made by the Statistical Branch to calculate a Cost of Living Index Figure. A general Retail Price Index Figure was, however, drawn up in the Report on the basis of a carefully explained procedure, resulting in a figure of 647 (January-March 1939 = 100) for the period January-March 1947. The corresponding Retail Food Prices Index

Thoso figure was calculated at 781.5. estimates, if near the mark, had, clearly, great significance for any comparison between the value of purchasing power of money in 1947 and its value in 1939, for the type of households comprised in the survey. extimated Index Figures for 1947 were considerably higher than had been expected. An examination of the weighting system adopt- ed suggested the possibili.y of some duplicat- ion of omphasis. The large weight given to food in the General Price Index for example, is itself the reflection of higher prices; within the food index, the large weight a allotted to Free Market Rice (22.06) is also duc to the fact that the price is much higher than in 1939. If then those weights are used to multiply the percentage increases in price, thoro seems a danger of double

The

counting.

While that is a matter for statisticians, it would scem that an inquiry into the quantities of cach item bought, on a monthly averago por household, might provide a useful chock; since then it would be possible to compare the actual cost of these quantitics in January-March 1947 with what they would have cost at January-March

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