Price indexes can be constructed using a “hedonic method” that adjusts for changes in the quality of a product by focusing on a set of key product characteristics. This handbook contributes to a better understanding of the merits and shortcomings of conventional and hedonic price indexes and...

This handbook reviews the methods employed in price indexes to adjust for quality change: “conventional” quality adjustment methods, which are explained in Chapter II, and hedonic price indexes (Chapter III). Hedonic indexes have a prominent place in price indexes for information and...

We review in considerable detail the conceptual and measurement issues that underlie construction of medical care price indexes in the U.S., particularly the medical care consumer price indexes (MCPIs) and medical-related producer price indexes (MPPIs). We outline salient features of the medical...