Constant dollars

Constant dollars

The term constant dollars refers to a metric for valuing the price of something over time, without that metric changing due to inflation or deflation. The term specifically refers to dollars whose present value is linked to a given year. (The principle, of course, can be applied to any currency worldwide, not only American dollars. See inflation adjustment and Real versus nominal value (economics) for more general discussions.)

Contents

Example

Constant dollars are used to compare the "real value" of an income or price to put the "nominal value" in perspective. For example, who was making more money, your father who made $5,000 at his first job in 1957, or you when you started at $18,000 in 1986? The answer depends on how much can be purchased by each salary. Is a gallon of gasoline more expensive in 1972 than it is today? It depends on how long a person needs to work to earn the money to buy the gas. Converting the nominal values into constant dollars compares what $5,000 could buy in 1957 to what $18,000 could buy in 1986. It is similar to finding the common denominator when adding or comparing fractions. Is 5/8 bigger than 3/5? Convert them both to 40ths and the first becomes 25/40 and the 2nd 24/40.

The inflation calculator at the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that $5,000 in 1957 has a value of $19,501.78 in 1986 dollars [1] or that $18,000 in 1986 has a value of $4,614.96 in 1957 dollars. So dad was making more money, in 1957, even though $18,000 looks larger than $5,000. Any year can be used as a baseline for comparing two years as long as it is consistent. For example, both salaries could be converted into 1970 dollars. Then the $18,000 becomes $6,372.26 in 1970 dollars, and the $5,000 becomes $6,903.91 in 1970 dollars. The relative position stays the same no matter what year is used as a baseline. Also the fraction of (1986 salary)/(1957 salary) remains the same as well when both are in constant dollars.

See also

References

  1. ^ CPI Inflation Calculator

External links



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • constant dollars —  Dollars of a base year, used in adjusting prices for changes in inflation …   American business jargon

  • Constant Dollars —   The value or purchasing power of a dollar in a specified year carried forward or backward …   Energy terms

  • Dollars constant — Monnaie constante Une monnaie constante est une monnaie ayant un pouvoir d achat constant dans le temps. Sa valeur théorique est calculée pour une année donnée, et pour éliminer toute variation due à l inflation ou la déflation. Pour passer d une …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Constant Dollar — An adjusted value of currency used to compare dollar values from one period to another. Due to inflation, the purchasing power of the dollar changes over time, so in order to compare dollar values from one year to another they need to be… …   Investment dictionary

  • Constant dollar plan — When institutions first started to invest in the stock market, one of the first types of plans they came up with was the constant ratio plan, often called rebalancing. Another type of plan is called a variable ratio plan, there are all types of… …   Wikipedia

  • Constant Proportion Debt Obligation — A Constant Proportion Debt Obligation (or CPDO) is a type of credit derivative sold to investors looking for long term exposure to credit risk on a highly rated note. They employ dynamic leveraging in a similar (but opposite) way to Credit CPPI… …   Wikipedia

  • Constant Currencies — An exchange rate that eliminates the effects of exchange rate fluctuations and that is used when calculating financial performance numbers. Companies with major foreign operations often use constant currencies when calculating their yearly… …   Investment dictionary

  • Constant Proportion Portfolio Insurance - CPPI — A method of portfolio insurance in which the investor sets a floor on the dollar value of his or her portfolio, then structures asset allocation around that decision. The two asset classes used in CPPI are a risky asset (usually equities or… …   Investment dictionary

  • Chained dollars — is a method of adjusting real dollar amounts for inflation over time, so as to allow comparison of figures from different years.[1] The U.S. Department of Commerce introduced the chained dollar measure in 1996. Chained dollars generally reflect… …   Wikipedia

  • Dollar Constant — Monnaie constante Une monnaie constante est une monnaie ayant un pouvoir d achat constant dans le temps. Sa valeur théorique est calculée pour une année donnée, et pour éliminer toute variation due à l inflation ou la déflation. Pour passer d une …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”