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Quality and Price Setting of High-Tech Goods

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  • Gorodnichenko, Yuriy

    (University of California, Berkeley)

  • Talavera, Oleksandr

    (University of Birmingham)

  • Vu, Nam

    (University of Birmingham)

Abstract

This paper investigates the link between product quality and price setting for central processing units (CPUs). Using thousands of price quotes from a popular price-comparison website, we find that market fundamentals, such as the number of sellers, median price, share of convenient prices and level of seller stability, are important factors for explaining price stickiness and price dispersion. We demonstrate that calculations of price inflation require conditioning not only on CPU quality, but also on market fundamentals to ensure that CPU attributes are priced correctly. Failing to do so can result in an understatement of CPU price deflation in the sample period.

Suggested Citation

  • Gorodnichenko, Yuriy & Talavera, Oleksandr & Vu, Nam, 2021. "Quality and Price Setting of High-Tech Goods," IZA Discussion Papers 14058, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14058
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    product quality; e-commerce; price setting; hedonic pricing; inflation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce
    • L86 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Information and Internet Services; Computer Software

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