Impacts of Sample Size and Quality-Adjusted Imputed Prices on Own-Price Elasticities Estimated Using Cross-Sectional Data

Cross-sectional data sets containing expenditure and quantity information are typically used to calculate quality-adjusted imputed prices. Do sample size and quality adjustment of price statistically alter estimates for own-price elasticities? This paper employs a data set pertaining to three food categories-pork, cheese, and food away from home-with four sample sizes for each food category. Twelve sample sizes were used for both adjusted and unadjusted prices to derive elasticities. No statistical differences were found between own-price elasticities among sample sizes. However, elasticities that were based on adjusted price imputations were significantly different from those that were based on unadjusted prices.