Assignment: Third Week (Due in the Fourth week)

Using the data on food prices the class gathered the week before (an Excel spreadsheet of the data is up on eCampus), create an index of price variation for the cities/towns that the data was gathered from. Using the table provided, calculate a price index that sets Morgantown’s basket of goods to be at 100, and showcases the variation of prices (if any) between Morgantown and the rest of the places on the list. Discuss any interesting results, including whether you think anyone’s data was faked. Additionally, calculate the mean and standard deviation of every component of the index individually, and briefly discuss any results that stand out as odd or far beyond the norm.