Google's new pepper mill

The search engine Google is working on a whole new concept called the GPI or Google Price Index. A new inflation measure for online sold goods. "A tragedy struck our house a few months ago because my favourite pepper mill broke" quotes Hal Varian, Google's chief economist, explaining he came up with this index idea when he was confronted with a list of prices for online sold pepper mills. The GPI could outcome official statistics on accuracy and up-to-dateness but is not meant to be a replacement for the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
(The Financial Times)

Charles Libert