<p>In July, the research staff of the Institute for Fiscal Studies produced an index, the Gross Earnings Deflator (GED), which was designed to show how much, on average, the gross earnings of the working population need to increase to compensate them for changes in inflation and the tax system. The government's new Taxes and Prices Index (TPI), first published in August, is similar in intention and construction. Both indices are clearly intended to assist in the wage bargaining process (although official spokesmen have denied that the TPI should be used for this purpose).</p>