A basic consumer price index for Cambodia

This paper calculates a National Basic Consumer Price Index for Cambodia for 1993-2009 using data gathered in twelve provincial urban and rural markets and Phnom Penh, by the Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) and the Cambodian National Institute of Statistics (NIS), respectively. The data collected by the CDRI were used to calculate a Provincial Basic Consumer Price Index for Cambodia for 1993-2009. Data from the NIS Consumer Price Index for Phnom Penh were used to calculate a Basic Consumer Price Index for Phnom Penh for the same period. This latter index was combined with the Provincial Basic Consumer Price Index, using appropriate population weights, to calculate a National Basic Consumer Price Index for Cambodia. This is a measure of prices paid by the poor for basic consumer items. The paper concludes with a discussion of price movements for basic consumer goods over the period 1993-2009, along with a comment on policy implications arising from the study. (J SEA Econ/GIGA)