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Quality and Price Setting of High-Tech Goods

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  • Yuriy Gorodnichenko
  • Oleksandr Talavera
  • Nam Hoai Vu

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

  • Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Oleksandr Talavera & Nam Hoai Vu, 2021. "Quality and Price Setting of High-Tech Goods," NBER Working Papers 28390, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28390
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    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

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