United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office General Government Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1995-03-09 monographic deposited born digital 82 p. GA 1.13:GGD-95-64 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-95-64 P0b002ee18037afcf f:gg95064 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-GGD-95-64 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GGD-95-64 GGD-95-64 Cost of living Disadvantaged persons Price indexes Demographic data Income statistics Economic analysis Statistical methods Economic research USDA Survey of Food Consumption Letter Report GGD This report provides information on the statistical data requirements that would be needed to construct a cost-of-living index that could be used, at the federal level, to adjust for geographic differences in living costs. Concerns had been raised in Congress that current measures do not recognize that residents of high-cost areas may need higher incomes to meet their basic needs. GAO (1) describes the function of market baskets in determining a cost-of-living index, including both a uniform national market basket and market baskets that reflect regional differences in consumption; (2) identifies methodologies that might be used to calculate a cost-of-living adjustment, including methodologies that researchers and private industry use for comparing costs by geographic areas; and (3) presents expert opinions on the ability of these methodologies to adjust the poverty measurements for geographic differences in cost of living. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-95-64/html/GAOREPORTS-GGD-95-64.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-95-64/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GGD-95-64.pdf GAO/GGD-95-64 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-95-64 Letter Report GAO/GGD-95-64; Poverty Measurement: Adjusting for Geographic Cost-of-Living Difference; Cost of living Disadvantaged persons Price indexes Demographic data Income statistics Economic analysis Statistical methods Economic research USDA Survey of Food Consumption