Question: During October, BLS calculated that inflation was 0.2%. However, during that same month, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) calculated that inflation was 0.1%. The BEA uses the GDP deflator to determine the rate of inflation. Although both measures showed that inflation was positive during the month, inflation calculated by the BLS was higher than that by the BEA. Which of the answer choices best explains this discrepancy?
A. GDP deflator includes goods and services produced by firms Thus, an increase in the production costs of firms are passed along in the form of higher consumer prices. On the other hand, the CPI includes only consumer goods and neglects the pricing effects of businesses.
B. GDP deflator includes goods and services produced domestically and internationally, whereas the CPI measures only those goods produced domestically.
C. CPI uses a fixed market basket of goods and services. When prices increase, consumers will search for lower However, the CPI does not take this into account and assumes that the amount of goods and services purchased stays alternatives, the same.
D. Both GDP deflator and CPI measure inflation correctly:however, the CPI uses a smaller sample and thus has less error Hence, the CPI yields the more accurate measure.