A measure of the value of money in which the cost, C, of a standard collection, or basket, of goods and services at some particular date is compared with the cost, C0, of an equivalent collection at a base date. The RPI is 100×C/C0, so that at the base date the RPI is 100. The basket is defined to represent the expenditure of a typical household, and the contents of the basket are changed periodically to accommodate changes in the pattern of expenditure. The RPI is a weighted average of the prices of the goods and services in the basket. See also price index.