The last column shows that in general the difference between Post Office, Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Local Government was 2.3 per cent. of the mean for prices returned for March, 1922, and 1.4 per cent. of the mean for prices returned for June, 1922--surely a small difference considering the instability of prices.
A point of some importance is the following:--
In the British budgets only items of which the price changes could be accurately measured are understood to have been included.
In our Summary all "Sundries" shown in the budgets are included. But as the price change of only about one-third of them could be directly measured it was assumed that the change in the level of the prices of the remaining sundries varied in the same proportion as the change in the other four groups combined.
Calculations were also made whereby a final figure could be arrived at by different methods, and the following table shows results obtained:--
PERCENTAGE INCREASES ARISING BY USING BRITISH WEIGHTS.
------------------------------------------------+------------------- |Percentage Increase | in Cost of Living | in Ireland. DIFFERENT METHODS. |----------+--------- | July 1914|July 1914 | to | to |March 1922|June 1922 ------------------------------------------------+----------+--------- _a_ By applying British Weights in 1914 | | to the Committee's Irish Prices of all | | commodities in 1914 and 1922 the percentage | | increase in the Cost of Living | | would be | 84.8 | 80.2 | | _b_ Taking Irish Prices for Food in 1914 as | | collected by the British Board of Trade, | | but the Committee's Prices for all other | | commodities in 1914 and all commodities | | in 1922 the increase would be | 76.6 | 71.0 | | _c_ Taking British Prices for food in the | | "United Kingdom" in 1914, but the Committee's | | Prices for all other commodities in 1914 | | and all commodities in 1922 the increase | | would be | 72.1 | 67.3 ------------------------------------------------+----------+--------- Prices obtained entirely on Irish weights | | and prices, and recommended for adoption | | are | 91.4 | 85.2 ------------------------------------------------+----------+---------
As regards this table it should, however, be pointed out that the commodities selected by us are not in all respects identical with those selected by the British authorities and that the application of the weights, although broadly speaking correct, could not be accurate in every detail.