Measuring Quality Growth and Studying Stockout Behavior Using Micro CPI Data

这项研究利用消费者物价指数(CPI)的机密微观数据来研究两个问题-消费品的质量改善和企业边际成本的变动，以及由于市场波动而导致的暂时产品缺货和价格加价。研究的第一部分研究了消费者价格通胀和质量增长对与推出新的耐用消费品型号相关的价格上涨的处理的敏感性。劳工统计局的重新抽样方法可以被用来获得有关销售数量如何随着车型周转量的变化而变化的信息。然后，这些信息被用来衡量新商品的价格上涨中有多少应该归因于质量改进。研究的第二部分展示了与现有方法相比，关于临时产品缺货的信息如何更直接地提供关于公司在市场周期中的成本和价格行为的信息。与成品库存数据相比，缺货数据适用于范围更广、分类更多的商品。研究表明，加价既可以归因于价格粘性，也可以归因于卖家主动调整价格。本研究的结果具有重要的政策含义。在质量改善和消费者价格通胀之间打破价格上涨的能力，是收集价格信息目标的核心。其结果可以直接为用来判断生活水平变化的物价上涨衡量标准提供信息。这些结果可以为劳工统计局方法的修订提供建议，或者为劳工统计局可以提供的额外统计数据提供建议。这项研究的结果也可能对如何衡量通胀产生影响。这可能会影响工资合同、社会保障支付、保险以及最终通货膨胀率本身中生活费调整的确定。

This research exploits confidential Consumer Price Index (CPI) micro data, to study two issues---quality improvements for consumer goods and movements in firms' marginal costs and price markups due to temporary product stockouts over market fluctuations. The first part of the research studies the sensitivity of consumer price inflation and, quality growth, to treatment of the price increases associated with the introduction of new models of consumer durables. The BLS' resampling method can be exploited to gain information on how quantities sold change with model turnovers. This information is then used to gauge how much of price increases for new goods should be attributed to quality improvements. The second part of the research shows how information on temporary product stockouts, provide more direct information on how firms' cost and prices behave over the market cycle than existing methods. The stockout data are available for a much wider and more disaggregate set of goods than data on finished inventories. The research shows how price markups can either be attributed to price stickiness or active price adjustments by sellers. Results of this research have important policy implications. The ability to break price increases between quality improvements and consumer price inflation is central to the goals of collecting information on prices. The results can directly inform measurement of price increases used to judge changes in standards of living. The results can yield suggestions for revisions of BLS methods or suggestions for additional statistics the BLS could make available. The results of the research could also have an effect on how inflation should be measured. This could affect the determination of cost living adjustments in wage contracts, social security payments, insurance, and ultimately the rate of inflation itself.