There is a thin thread that links online newspaper subscriptions to electronic cigarettes, biodegradable garbage bags and coffee pods. They are all goods that abound in the homes of the Peninsula and, for this reason, Istat has decided to include them in the new basket for calculating inflation.
In a changing Italy, the Institute of Statistics has decided to replace, in its by now famous basket, even organic yoghurt with probiotic one and the cost of repairing the TV or PC with those for the purchase of a hybrid notebook.
In 2014, the basket used to calculate the consumer price indices counted 1447 products (18 more than in 2013). There are twenty-one new entries, three exits.
In times of crisis, the expenditure items for food and soft drinks, health services, catering and, albeit to a limited extent, culture and education become heavier. The transport, clothing-footwear and communications divisions are down.
