Economic Measurement

From the start of its consulting practice JPC has undertaken projects requiring the derivation of specific measures from published data series or data we collect through surveys. But more and more, clients are requesting development of customized price and cost indexes and other economic measures from data specific to their companies.

JPC's philosophy

To look ahead, a firm, industry or nation must know where it is and where it has been. It must have proper measures of what has happened. Three ingredients are essential to accurate economic measurement: (1) the concept underlying each measure must match the purpose for which it is used; (2) appropriate state-of-the-art methods of sampling and data collection must be employed; and (3) easy-to-use programs to edit and compile the data must be developed.

The measurement we undertake

For firms: JPC develops and updates price and other indexes used for strategic planning and capital budgeting, for asset and liability valuation and as a basis for product-price forecasting; for presentation as evidence in rate-making proceedings by firms in regulated industries; and for other management and control purposes.

For multinational institutions: JPC makes comparisons among nations of the cost of living, productivity and unit costs of production.

For governmental agencies: JPC develops tools that governments officially adopt; these include separate GDP data for small and large business, classification systems used to compile national economic data, and price indexes for analysis and policy purposes.