--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-12/the-boskin-commission-report-after-a-decade-after-life-or-requiem/" title: "The Boskin Commission Report After a Decade: After-life or Requiem?" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T06:53:52+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T06:53:52+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Spring 2006" ipm_keyword: - "BLS" - "Boskin Commission" - "CPI" - "new goods" - "political economy" - "price measurement" - "quality adjustment" - "substitution bias" - "United States" ipm_research_theme: - "Measurement and methodology" ipm_country_focus: - "International" - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # The Boskin Commission Report After a Decade: After-life or Requiem? Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-12/the-boskin-commission-report-after-a-decade-after-life-or-requiem/ # The Boskin Commission Report After a Decade: After-life or Requiem? [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-12-5-Berndt.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Berndt, Ernst. 2006. “The Boskin Commission Report After a Decade: After-life or Requiem?” International Productivity Monitor, No. 12 (Spring 2006): 61–73. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-12/the-boskin-commission-report-after-a-decade-after-life-or-requiem/ ## Author: - Ernst Berndt Sloan School of Management, MIT; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ## IPM Issue 12 Spring 2006 pp. 61–73 ## Related IPM articles [New Measures of Public Service Productivity: Lessons and Results from the United Kingdom Richard Heys Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 90–114](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/new-measures-of-public-service-productivity-lessons-and-results-from-the-united-kingdom/) [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/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn This article examines why CPI bias has faded from public discourse a decade after the Boskin Commission Report, and assesses what has and has not been resolved. The author traces the political economy of the Commission’s work, reviews BLS improvements to the CPI since 1996, and evaluates ongoing debates about substitution bias, quality adjustment, and new goods bias. He argues that while substantial progress has been made, significant issues remain unresolved, and the Commission’s influence on international statistical practice continues. Cet article examine pourquoi le biais de l’IPC a été éclipsé du discours public une décennie après le rapport de la Commission Boskin, et évalue ce qui a et n’a pas été résolu. L’auteur retrace l’économie politique des travaux de la Commission, passe en revue les améliorations apportées à l’IPC par le BLS depuis 1996 et évalue les débats en cours sur le biais de substitution, l’ajustement de la qualité et le biais des nouveaux produits. Il soutient que si des progrès substantiels ont été réalisés, d’importantes questions restent non résolues, et que l’influence de la Commission sur la pratique statistique internationale se poursuit. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-12-5-Berndt.pdf)