Product Turnover and the Cost-of-Living Index: Quality versus Fashion Effects
Keyword(s):
The Cost
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This paper evaluates the effects of product turnover on a welfare-based cost-of-living index by incorporating the quality effect and the fashion effect. Employing scanner data for Japan for the years 1988–2013, we find that (i) the price and quantity of a new product tend to be higher than those of its predecessor at its exit; (ii) a considerable fashion effect exists for the entire sample period, while the quality effect is declining over time; and (iii) the discrepancy between the cost-of-living index estimated based on our methodology and the price index constructed only from a matched sample is not large. (JEL C43, E31, L11, L15, L81)
Keyword(s):
2003 ◽
Vol 17
(1)
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pp. 23-44
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Keyword(s):
1983 ◽
Vol 20
(1)
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pp. 25-53
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