Hedonic Price Indexes for Personal Computer Operating Systems and Productivity Suites

Results from hedonic price regressions for personal computer operating systems and productivity suites advertised in PC World magazine by retail vendors during the time period 1984 to 2000 are reported. Among the quality attribute variables we use are new measures capturing the connectivity and compatibility of operating systems and the degree of data exchange among components of productivity suites. Average annual growth rates of quality-adjusted prices of personal computer operating systems range from -15 to -18 percent, while those for productivity suites generally range between -13 and -16 percent. These price declines are generally robust to estimation method and model specification.