{"product_id":"the-cost-of-living-in-america-a-political-history-of-economic-statistics-1880-2000-paperback-9780521719247","title":"The Cost of Living in America; A Political History of Economic Statistics, 1880–2000 (Paperback) 9780521719247","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Cost of Living in America\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eA Political History of Economic Statistics, 1880–2000\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eStapleford interweaves economic theory with political history to show why Americans vest so much authority in the Consumer Price Index.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eThomas A. Stapleford (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780521719247, Cambridge University Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback, published 31 August 2009\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e440 pages, 7 b\/w illus.  7 tables\u003cbr\u003e22.8 x 15.4 x 2.5 cm, 0.58 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e'… I am fully convinced by this book and would recommend it strongly … it is an extremely informative book with much index theory and politics. It is very fascinating and extremely useful for everybody who is interested in price indices, inflation measurement, social policy and the general political problems of official statistics or, as Stapleford's put it, in 'the deep and complicated entanglement of rationalized governance, cost-of-living statistics, and economic reforms' … One might also add 'and in the constitution of official statistics in a democracy'.' Peter von der Lippe, Journal of Economics and Statistics\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSince the late nineteenth century, the 'cost of living' has been a prominent part of debates about American political economy. By the early twentieth century, that prominence had taken a quantitative turn, as businessmen, unions, economists, and politicians all turned to cost-of-living statistics in their struggle to control and reshape the American economy. Today, the continuing power of these statistics is exemplified by the U.S Consumer Price Index, whose fluctuations have enormous consequences for economic policy and the federal budget (including the allocation of hundreds of billions of dollars annually through cost-of-living escalator clauses in programs such as Social Security). In this book, Stapleford interweaves economic theory with political history to create a novel account of the quantitative knowledge that underpins much of American political economy. Demonstrating that statistical calculations inevitably require political judgments, he reveals what choices were made in constructing and using cost-of-living statistics and why those choices matter both for our understanding of American history and for contemporary political and economic life.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eIntroduction\u003cbr\u003e Note on terminology and technical theory\u003cbr\u003e Part I. Statistics and Labor Reform,1880–1930: 1. Before there were indexes: the 'labor question' and labor statistics, 1884–1910\u003cbr\u003e 2. The cost-of-living statistics and industrial relations in the 1920s\u003cbr\u003e Part II. Rationalizing the Democratic Political Order, 1930–1960: 4. The nature of a revolution: the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the bottom-up: union research on the cost of living\u003cbr\u003e 7. Bounded conflict: collective bargaining and the consumer price index in the Cold War\u003cbr\u003e Part III. The Consumer Price Index and the Federal Government, 1960–2000: 8. Accounting for growth: macroeconomics analysis and the transformation of price index theory\u003cbr\u003e 9. From workers to the welfare state: the consumer price index and the rise of indexation\u003cbr\u003e Epilogue: governance and economic statistics\u003cbr\u003e Technical index: a brief primer on cost-of-living indexes.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Economic history [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Economic history\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Economic%20history%20%5BKCZ%5D%22\"\u003eKCZ\u003c\/a\u003e], Political economy [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Political economy\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Political%20economy%20%5BKCP%5D%22\"\u003eKCP\u003c\/a\u003e], Economics [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Economics\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Economics%20%5BKC%5D%22\"\u003eKC\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46005571977496,"sku":"9780521719247","price":37.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/products\/9780521719247i_24c38365-7b5d-4ca7-8f71-a24a9f480c33.jpg?v=1691380383","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-cost-of-living-in-america-a-political-history-of-economic-statistics-1880-2000-paperback-9780521719247","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}