The price statistics team at ESCWA has developed annual production of regional purchasing power parity (PPP) estimates and forecasts based on collected price data; a harmonized consumer price index (HCPI) which enables the comparison of inflation levels between different Arab countries and regional inflation rates; sub-national purchasing power parities that compare the different purchasing powers of the local currency and the cost of living between regions of the same country; and the application of big data tools in the collection of price data, such as web scraping, automated price extraction tools and scanner data.
A capacity-building workshop on price statistics, survey implementation and modernization is being held for the United Arab Emirates Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre and the local statistical offices of the different Emirates. The workshop includes:
- Training of local statistical offices staff on the implementation of household consumption and non-household consumption surveys related to the production of regional PPPs
- Queries related to price surveys
- Introduction of sub-national PPP production and its importance and specific benefits for the United Arab Emirates
- Presentation on the unified household consumption item list
- Training on the template for the computation of the national HCPI
- Presentation of the modern technological tools developed by ESCWA and assessment of their potential applications in the United Arab Emirates
Amman, Jordan
