Central Washington University (CWU) Student Price Index (SPI)

Overview

Since January 2021, the Economics Association and the Department of Economics at CWU are jointly leading a project that aims to develop a price index to determine the cost of college living in Ellensburg, Washington. Every month, based on a campus-wide survey, the Economic Association members gather prices of goods commonly consumed by CWU students from different stores in Ellensburg to compute the SPI and inflation rates. This index serves to identify the price changes that students in Ellensburg encounter, making it a valuable tool.

Monthly Update Reports

Monthly updates on the SPI can be found below, on the Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce website, or on instagram at @cwuecon_drlee.

Dec 2023 | Nov 2023 | Oct 2023 | Sep 2023 | Apr 2023 | Mar 2023 | Feb 2023 | Jan 2023 | Dec 2022 | Nov 2022 | Oct 2022

The SPI project has been featured in:

• CWU Pulse Magazine, Winter 2023.
• The Voyage Magazine by the College of Business, CWU, Summer 2023.

The SPI project was presented at:

• Pacific Northwest Regional Economics Conference (PNREC) 2024 in Bend, Oregon (scheduled).
• 20th Economic Outlook Conference 2024, Department of Economics, CWU (scheduled).
• CWU Board of Trustees Meeting, Feb. 2024 (scheduled).
• 19th Economic Outlook Conference 2023, Department of Economics, CWU.
• CWU Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE) 2023.
• Pacific Northwest Regional Economics Conference (PNREC) 2023 in Walla Walla, WA.
• CWU Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE) 2022: award recipient for the College of Business.
• Pacific Northwest Regional Economics Conference (PNREC) 2022 in Hood River, OR.

The SPI has received:

• 2023 CWU Faculty-Student Provost Research Grant ($1,500)
• 2022 CWU Faculty-Student Provost Research Grant ($3,000)

Contributors (as of Spring 2023)

• Faculty advisor: Yurim Lee
• Co-advisor on student expenditure survey: David Zuckerman, CWU
• Student participants: Sophia Apostolides, Joel Antush, Jocelyn Cruz, Kaleb Eskridge, James Gibson, Marissa Harrison, Landen Hashimura (Vice President), Daizie Jones, Caden McNair (Report Writer), Jeremy Rexus, Mia Young (President)