What is the Constant Price Series (KP)?
Constant price or "real" series, also known as constant price estimates or "real" estimates, are economic data that have been adjusted for the effects of inflation. These estimates are produced by deflating the nominal data, which reflects current prices, by a price index such as the consumer price index (CPI). The resulting data series is expressed in "real" or "constant" prices, which means that the data is shown in terms of the prices that prevailed in a particular base period. The main purpose of creating constant price series is to facilitate comparison of economic data over time, by eliminating the distorting effect of inflation on the data. Without adjusting for inflation, it can be difficult to determine whether changes in the data reflect genuine changes in economic activity or simply reflect changes in the general level of prices. For example, consider the case of GDP. If we just compare the nominal GDP of two different years, it may a...