Hedonic Imputation Versus Time Dummy Hedonic Indexes

Statistical offices try to match item models when measuring inflation between two periods. However, for product areas with a high turnover of differentiated models, the use of hedonic indexes is more appropriate since they include unmatched new and old models. There are two main competing approaches to hedonic indexes are hedonic imputation (HI) indexes and dummy time hedonic (HD) indexes. This study provides a formal analysis of exactly why the results from the two approaches may differ and discusses the issue of choice between these approaches. An illustrative study for desktop PCs is provided.