# Aggregating across baskets

Most prices indexes use the same set of weights to aggregate elementary indexes for several years, periodically updating these weights and adding or removing elementary aggregates. The general approach to keep the time series going across baskets is to “chain” the index across baskets.

Let’s start by making some quarterly elementary indexes and weights for two baskets. Each basket has index values for two years, and there is a one year overlap between the baskets.

    library(piar)

    set.seed(12345)

    # Make quarterly elementary indexes for two baskets with a 1 year overlap.

    elementals1 <- matrix(
      runif(5 * 8, 0.8, 1.2),
      nrow = 5,
      dimnames = list(paste0("B", 1:5), NULL)
    ) |>
      as_index()

    elementals2 <- matrix(
      runif(6 * 8, 0.8, 1.2),
      nrow = 6,
      dimnames = list(paste0("B", 1:6), 5:12)
    ) |>
      as_index()

    # Make aggregation weights for basket 1.
    #            1
    #      |-----+-----|
    #      11          12
    #  |---+---|   |---+---|
    #  B1  B2  B3  B4      B5

    weights1 <- data.frame(
      level1 = 1,
      level2 = c(11, 11, 11, 12, 12),
      ea = levels(elementals1),
      weights = runif(5, 100, 200)
    )

    # Make aggregation weights for basket 2.
    #            1
    #      |-----+-----|
    #      11          12
    #  |---+---|   |---+---|
    #  B1  B2  B3  B4  B5  B6

    weights2 <- data.frame(
      level1 = 1,
      level2 = c(11, 11, 11, 12, 12, 12),
      ea = levels(elementals2),
      weights = runif(6, 100, 200)
    )

Aggregating the indexes for both baskets involves simply mapping the usual workflow across both baskets, keeping only the higher-level indexes because the elementary indexes change across baskets.

    index <- Map(
      aggregate,
      list(elementals1, elementals2),
      list(weights1, weights2),
      include_ea = FALSE
    )

There are now several ways to combine these index series to form a single time series. Assuming that we don’t want to revise any index values from the old basket, the easiest method is to simply ignore the overlap period and stack the upper-level period-over-period indexes for the new basket onto the those in the old basket.

    stack(index[[1]], window(index[[2]], start = "9")) |>
      chain()

    ## Fixed-base price index for 3 levels over 12 time periods
    ##       time
    ## levels        1        2         3         4        5        6         7
    ##     1  1.101645 1.109240 1.0073206 0.9850853 1.055811 1.037494 0.9931005
    ##     11 1.108522 1.037686 0.9807159 0.9482265 1.016769 1.028660 0.9505788
    ##     12 1.090230 1.228015 1.0514823 1.0462678 1.120616 1.052158 1.0636831
    ##       time
    ## levels        8        9        10        11        12
    ##     1  1.030081 1.082712 1.0297273 1.0833225 1.0117095
    ##     11 1.037308 1.149467 1.1530529 1.2475735 1.0303923
    ##     12 1.018084 1.024395 0.9280337 0.9496758 0.9909764

Alternatively, the index values from the new basket can be chained using the values in the last period of the first basket as a link factor and combined with the chained index values from the old basket.

    link_factor <- chain(index[[1]]) |>
      window(start = end(index[[1]])) |>
      as.numeric()

    stack(
      chain(index[[1]]),
      chain(window(index[[2]], start = "9"), link = link_factor)
    )

    ## Fixed-base price index for 3 levels over 12 time periods
    ##       time
    ## levels        1        2         3         4        5        6         7
    ##     1  1.101645 1.109240 1.0073206 0.9850853 1.055811 1.037494 0.9931005
    ##     11 1.108522 1.037686 0.9807159 0.9482265 1.016769 1.028660 0.9505788
    ##     12 1.090230 1.228015 1.0514823 1.0462678 1.120616 1.052158 1.0636831
    ##       time
    ## levels        8        9        10        11        12
    ##     1  1.030081 1.082712 1.0297273 1.0833225 1.0117095
    ##     11 1.037308 1.149467 1.1530529 1.2475735 1.0303923
    ##     12 1.018084 1.024395 0.9280337 0.9496758 0.9909764

The index values for the overlap period can be used to make more complex link factors when the index series have an annual base period.

    index <- index |>
      lapply(chain) |>
      lapply(\(x) rebase(x, mean(x[, 1:4])))

Keeping the base year of the old basket can be done by simply rebasing the index series for the new basket.

    link_factor <- window(index[[1]], start = "5") |>
      mean() |>
      as.numeric()

    stack(
      index[[1]],
      rebase(window(index[[2]], start = "9"), base = 1 / link_factor)
    )

    ## Fixed-base price index for 3 levels over 12 time periods
    ##       time
    ## levels         1        2         3         4        5         6         7
    ##     1  1.0483642 1.055592 0.9586018 0.9374418 1.004747 0.9873156 0.9450694
    ##     11 1.0880796 1.018550 0.9626304 0.9307402 0.998019 1.0096899 0.9330491
    ##     12 0.9875283 1.112334 0.9524307 0.9477073 1.015052 0.9530428 0.9634821
    ##       time
    ## levels         8        9        10        11        12
    ##     1  0.9802611 1.036713 0.9859794 1.0372977 0.9687271
    ##     11 1.0181791 1.027851 1.0310566 1.1155766 0.9213738
    ##     12 0.9221784 1.037244 0.9396738 0.9615874 1.0034060

Updating the reference year to that of the new basket involves rebasing the series for both the old basket and the new basket.

    index[[1]] <- rebase(index[[1]], mean(window(index[[1]], start = "5")))

    link_factor <- as.numeric(index[[1]][, "8"]) / as.numeric(index[[2]][, "8"])

    stack(
      index[[1]],
      rebase(window(index[[2]], start = "9"), base = 1 / link_factor)
    )

    ## Fixed-base price index for 3 levels over 12 time periods
    ##       time
    ## levels        1        2        3         4        5         6         7
    ##     1  1.070471 1.077852 0.978816 0.9572099 1.025934 1.0081354 0.9649983
    ##     11 1.099365 1.029114 0.972615 0.9403940 1.008371 1.0201626 0.9427269
    ##     12 1.025004 1.154545 0.988574 0.9836715 1.053572 0.9892094 1.0000448
    ##       time
    ## levels         8         9        10        11        12
    ##     1  1.0009321 1.0520739 1.0005887 1.0526672 0.9830807
    ##     11 1.0287398 1.1399727 1.1435285 1.2372683 1.0218811
    ##     12 0.9571738 0.9631074 0.8725112 0.8928585 0.9316881