Referential USD based on CPI-U (2014e)

Note: This article is being updated. For the officially published article, go to: PEREZGONZALEZ Jose D (2013). Referential USD based on CPI-U (2013e)6. Knowledge (ISSN 2324-1624), 2014, pages 20-23.] [DOI] [Printer friendly]

Referential USD

Referential US dollars (rUSD, r$) is the real value of the US dollar (USD, $) back in 2010, which is used here as referential currency for better understanding the value of money overtime. The referential dollar is based on the average value of the United States consumer price index for all urban consumers - US CPI-U Average (United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20143, also Rate Inflation, 20142). The CPI-U is a useful index for comparing the cost of consumer goods and services (Williamson, 20115), and represents well the consumer patterns of about 80% of the U.S. population (excluding rural consumers, the military and institutional populations - Wikipedia, 20114). It is calculated by updating the nominal value of the dollar with the appropriate multiplier. The formula for transforming USD into rUSD follows, while Table 1 provides the correct multiplier (an inflator/deflator multiplier) for the formula.

Formulas
rUSD = nominal USD * value multiplier = value of money throughout time, with base 2010 (= 218.1/CPI)
currency equivalence = nominal USD * currency multiplier = equivalent currency throughout time, with base 2010 (= CPI/218.1)


Table 1. CPI-U for USA and rUSD multipliers
Year CPI A.Avg Base 2010 value multiplier currency multiplier
1913 9.9 218.1 22.0258 0.0454
1914 10.0 218.1 21.8055 0.0459
1915 10.1 218.1 21.5896 0.0463
1916 10.9 218.1 20.0050 0.0500
1917 12.8 218.1 17.0355 0.0587
1918 15.1 218.1 14.4407 0.0692
1919 17.3 218.1 12.6043 0.0793
1920 20.0 218.1 10.9028 0.0917
1921 17.9 218.1 12.1818 0.0821
1922 16.8 218.1 12.9795 0.0770
1923 17.1 218.1 12.7518 0.0784
1924 17.1 218.1 12.7518 0.0784
1925 17.5 218.1 12.4603 0.0803
1926 17.7 218.1 12.3195 0.0812
1927 17.4 218.1 12.5319 0.0798
1928 17.1 218.1 12.7518 0.0784
1929 17.1 218.1 12.7518 0.0784
1930 16.7 218.1 13.0572 0.0766
1931 15.2 218.1 14.3457 0.0697
1932 13.7 218.1 15.9164 0.0628
1933 13.0 218.1 16.7735 0.0596
1934 13.4 218.1 16.2728 0.0615
1935 13.7 218.1 15.9164 0.0628
1936 13.9 218.1 15.6874 0.0637
1937 14.4 218.1 15.1427 0.0660
1938 14.1 218.1 15.4649 0.0647
1939 13.9 218.1 15.6874 0.0637
1940 14.0 218.1 15.5754 0.0642
1941 14.7 218.1 14.8337 0.0674
1942 16.3 218.1 13.3776 0.0748
1943 17.3 218.1 12.6043 0.0793
1944 17.6 218.1 12.3895 0.0807
1945 18.0 218.1 12.1142 0.0825
1946 19.5 218.1 11.1823 0.0894
1947 22.3 218.1 9.7783 0.1023
1948 24.1 218.1 9.0479 0.1105
1949 23.8 218.1 9.1620 0.1091
1950 24.1 218.1 9.0479 0.1105
1951 26.0 218.1 8.3867 0.1192
1952 26.5 218.1 8.2285 0.1215
1953 26.7 218.1 8.1669 0.1224
1954 26.9 218.1 8.1061 0.1234
1955 26.8 218.1 8.1364 0.1229
1956 27.2 218.1 8.0167 0.1247
1957 28.1 218.1 7.7600 0.1289
1958 28.9 218.1 7.5452 0.1325
1959 29.1 218.1 7.4933 0.1335
1960 29.6 218.1 7.3667 0.1357
1961 29.9 218.1 7.2928 0.1371
1962 30.2 218.1 7.2204 0.1385
1963 30.6 218.1 7.1260 0.1403
1964 31.0 218.1 7.0340 0.1422
1965 31.5 218.1 6.9224 0.1445
1966 32.4 218.1 6.7301 0.1486
1967 33.4 218.1 6.5286 0.1532
1968 34.8 218.1 6.2659 0.1596
1969 36.7 218.1 5.9416 0.1683
1970 38.8 218.1 5.6200 0.1779
1971 40.5 218.1 5.3841 0.1857
1972 41.8 218.1 5.2166 0.1917
1973 44.4 218.1 4.9111 0.2036
1974 49.3 218.1 4.4230 0.2261
1975 53.8 218.1 4.0531 0.2467
1976 56.9 218.1 3.8322 0.2609
1977 60.6 218.1 3.5983 0.2779
1978 65.2 218.1 3.3444 0.2990
1979 72.6 218.1 3.0035 0.3329
1980 82.4 218.1 2.6463 0.3779
1981 90.9 218.1 2.3988 0.4169
1982 96.5 218.1 2.2596 0.4425
1983 99.6 218.1 2.1893 0.4568
1984 103.9 218.1 2.0987 0.4765
1985 107.6 218.1 2.0265 0.4935
1986 109.6 218.1 1.9896 0.5026
1987 113.6 218.1 1.9195 0.5210
1988 118.3 218.1 1.8432 0.5425
1989 124.0 218.1 1.7585 0.5687
1990 130.7 218.1 1.6684 0.5994
1991 136.2 218.1 1.6010 0.6246
1992 140.3 218.1 1.5542 0.6434
1993 144.5 218.1 1.5090 0.6627
1994 148.2 218.1 1.4714 0.6796
1995 152.4 218.1 1.4308 0.6989
1996 156.9 218.1 1.3898 0.7195
1997 160.5 218.1 1.3586 0.7361
1998 163.0 218.1 1.3378 0.7475
1999 166.6 218.1 1.3089 0.7640
2000 172.2 218.1 1.2663 0.7897
2001 177.1 218.1 1.2313 0.8122
2002 179.9 218.1 1.2121 0.8250
2003 184.0 218.1 1.1851 0.8438
2004 188.9 218.1 1.1543 0.8663
2005 195.3 218.1 1.1165 0.8956
2006 201.6 218.1 1.0816 0.9245
2007 207.3 218.1 1.0517 0.9509
2008 215.3 218.1 1.0128 0.9874
2009 214.5 218.1 1.0164 0.9839
2010 218.1 218.1 1.0000 1.0000
2011 224.9 218.1 0.9694 1.0316
2012 229.6 218.1 0.9497 1.0529
2013 233.0 218.1 0.9360 1.0683
2014 236.7 218.1 0.9211 1.0857
2015* 243.8 218.1 0.8943 1.1182
2016* 251.2 218.1 0.8682 1.1518
2017* 258.7 218.1 0.8429 1.1863
2018* 266.4 218.1 0.8184 1.2219
2019* 274.4 218.1 0.7945 1.2586
2020* 282.7 218.1 0.7714 1.2963
2021* 291.2 218.1 0.7489 1.3352
(*Assuming a 3% accumulated inflation rate.)

For example, a salary of $10,000 back in 1972 had the same purchasing power (ie, value) than a salary of $52,166 in 2010 (= $10,000 * 5.2166). And a salary of $40,000 in 2014 had the same purchasing power than salary of $36,844 in 2010. Thus, a person earning $10,000 in 1972 was actually better off than a person earning $40,000 in 2014.

On the other hand, the currency equivalence of a purchasing power of r$40,000 in 2010 was $7,668 in 1972 ( = r$40,000 * 0.1917). That is, whatever was worth $40,000 in 2010 could have been bought with $7,668 back in 1972.

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References
1. PEREZGONZALEZ Jose D (2012). Referential USD based on CPI-U (2012e). Knowledge (ISSN 2324-1624), 2013, pages 81-84. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.706985
2. RATE INFLATION (2014). American Consumer Price Index (CPI) History. Retrieved from Rate Inflation on 23 April 2015.
3. U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS (2014). Consumer price index. Retrieved from U.S. Department of Labor on 23 April 2015.
4. WIKIPEDIA (2011). United States consumer price index. Retrieved from Wikipedia on 21 July 2011.
5. WILLIAMSON Samuel H (2011). Seven ways to compute the relative value of a U.S. dollar amount, 1774 to present. Retrieved from MeasuringWorth on 21 July 2011.
+++ Footnotes +++
6. The 2013 edition updates the 2012 edition1 with the official CPI-U values for that year.

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Outdated versions

PEREZGONZALEZ Jose D (2010). Referential USD based on CPI-U (2010e). Journal of Knowledge Advancement & Integration (ISSN 1177-4576), 2011, pages 61-64.
PEREZGONZALEZ Jose D (2011). Referential USD based on CPI-U (2011e). Journal of Knowledge Advancement & Integration (ISSN 1177-4576), 2012, pages 117-120.
PEREZGONZALEZ Jose D (2012). Referential USD based on CPI-U (2012e). Knowledge (ISSN 2324-1624), 2013, pages 81-84, doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.706985

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Author

Jose D PEREZGONZALEZ (2015). Massey University, Turitea Campus, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand. (JDPerezgonzalezJDPerezgonzalez).

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