Seasonality, consumer heterogeneity and price indexes: the case of prepackaged software

Adam Copeland

Journal of Productivity Analysis, 2013, vol. 39, issue 1, 47-59

Abstract: This paper measures constant-quality price change for prepackaged software in the US using detailed and comprehensive scanner data. Because there is a large sales surge over the winter-holiday, it is important to account for seasonal variation. Using a novel approach to constructing a seasonally-adjusted cost-of-living price index that explicitly accounts for consumer heterogeneity, I find that from 1997 to 2003 constant-quality software prices declined at an average 15.9% at an annual rate. As a point of comparison, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports average annual price declines of only 7.7% for prepackaged software. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2013

Keywords: Seasonal adjustment; Software prices; Heterogeneity; Price indexes; C43; E31; L86 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:jproda:v:39:y:2013:i:1:p:47-59

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DOI: 10.1007/s11123-012-0266-2

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