--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-12/the-boskin-commission-report-a-retrospective-one-decade-later/" title: "The Boskin Commission Report: A Retrospective One Decade Later" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T06:53:28+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T06:53:28+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Spring 2006" ipm_keyword: - "Boskin Commission" - "CPI" - "inflation bias" - "new products" - "price measurement" - "quality change" - "substitution bias" - "United States" ipm_research_theme: - "Measurement and methodology" ipm_country_focus: - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # The Boskin Commission Report: A Retrospective One Decade Later Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-12/the-boskin-commission-report-a-retrospective-one-decade-later/ # The Boskin Commission Report: A Retrospective One Decade Later [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-12-2-Gordon.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Gordon, Robert. 2006. “The Boskin Commission Report: A Retrospective One Decade Later.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 12 (Spring 2006): 7–22. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-12/the-boskin-commission-report-a-retrospective-one-decade-later/ ## Author: - Robert Gordon Department of Economics, Northwestern University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ## IPM Issue 12 Spring 2006 pp. 7–22 ## Related IPM articles [De-industrialization and the Great Productivity Slowdown: What Comes Next? 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The Role of Labour Composition Jay Stewart Spring 2022 | IPM Issue 42 | pp. 87–103](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-42/why-was-us-labour-productivity-growth-so-high-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-the-role-of-labour-composition/) [Trading Gains and Productivity: A Törnqvist Approach Ulrich Kohli Spring 2022 | IPM Issue 42 | pp. 63–86](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-42/trading-gains-and-productivity-a-tornqvist-approach/) [Is Egypt Really More Productive than the United States? The Data behind the Penn World Table Robert Inklaar, Pieter Woltjer Fall 2021 | IPM Issue 41 | pp. 118–137](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-41/is-egypt-really-more-productive-than-the-united-states-the-data-behind-the-penn-world-table/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn This article by a Boskin Commission member provides a retrospective assessment of the Commission’s 1996 finding that the U.S. CPI overstated inflation by 1.1 percentage points per year. The author reviews methodological changes to the CPI since the report, updates the bias estimate based on new research on apparel, rental housing, and upper-level substitution, and concludes that the bias in 1995-96 should have been estimated at 1.2-1.3 percentage points. He estimates the current upward bias at about 0.8 percentage points, or 1.0 points when accounting for new products and increased longevity. Cet article d’un membre de la Commission Boskin fournit une évaluation rétrospective de la conclusion de la Commission en 1996 selon laquelle l’indice des prix à la consommation (IPC) américain surestimait l’inflation de 1,1 point de pourcentage par année. L’auteur passe en revue les modifications méthodologiques apportées à l’IPC depuis le rapport, actualise l’estimation du biais à partir de nouvelles recherches sur l’habillement, le logement locatif et la substitution de niveau supérieur, et conclut que le biais en 1995-96 aurait dû être estimé à 1,2-1,3 point de pourcentage. Il estime le biais actuel à la hausse à environ 0,8 point de pourcentage, ou 1,0 point en tenant compte des nouveaux produits et de l’allongement de l’espérance de vie. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-12-2-Gordon.pdf)