"Measure directly"? As in: go after every family and try to figure out their consumption basket? Producing census data is extremely expensive when compared with

"Measure directly"? As in: go after every family and try to figure out their consumption basket? Producing census data is extremely expensive when compared with estimating consumption. Also, it's also a pain in the ass to participate in consumption studies since participants have to literally list every single thing they're buying for a given period. It wouldn't fly at all with the citizenry.