#HEDONIC POWER TV#

Is that inflation of 5% or deflation of 45%?Īnother example could be the quality of materials used in making clothes. If we buy more expensive models of mobile phones, can we really say that is inflation? We are buying better quality products and so in a way the price is going down because we are getting more for our money.įor example, the number of features on a top of the range Vodaphone phone increases by 50%, and the price is 5% higher. The features on a mobile phone have increased dramatically in the past 10 years. But, you may feel this reflects an increase in the cost of living because these new features are not much use to you and there is no option to buy a cheaper Apple phone. True, you are getting more features and a better phone. People might like to buy a simple model for £50, but mobile phone companies no longer supply these cheap models, therefore, consumers are forced to buy the higher-priced models – even if they don’t use all the features of a smartphone.įor example, if you are an Apple consumer and you keep a mobile phone contract with an Apple phone, the price of your monthly charge has been rising faster than inflation. If we adjust inflation downward because of the improvement in the quality of the goods, some argue this can lead to an under-estimation of inflation.įor example, a mobile phone may be a necessity for modern life. Controversy over using Hedonic adjustments They will make an estimate of what percentage the price increase is due to better quality and what percentage is actually higher prices.Īnother example, if the price of a banana increases 10%, this is more straightforward for calculating inflation, a banana is pretty much the same as it was last year. But, officials will not count the increase in price as 400% because it is effectively a different product.On first glance the price of tv’s on the market has increased by 400%.

#HEDONIC POWER TV#

A popular model, readily available is maybe a 40″ plasma tv with built-in recorder.Now, that 24″ tv is no longer available.10 years ago, a standard 24″ CRT tv may cost $200.It becomes difficult to work out – how much of price rise is due to inflationary pressures and how much is due to the changing nature of the product. However, if the quality of the TV has changed, and you are paying 10% more price for a 20% bigger TV, then it is more complicated- the higher price reflects a combination of higher prices and higher quality. If a TV increases in price by 10%, and the TV was exactly the same, that would mean it reflects inflation of 10%. It is used in the US and UK calculation of inflation. Hedonics is the science of trying to work out how much product quality has changed and adjusting inflation to take account of the fact more expensive products are not just inflation, but also improved quality.

Hedonic power