New goods are at the heart of economic progress. The eleven essays in
this volume include historical treatments of new goods and their
diffusion; practical exercises in measurement addressed to recent and
ongoing innovations; and real-world methods of devising quantitative
adjustments for quality change. The lead article in Part I contains a
striking analysis of the history of light over two millenia. Other
essays in Part I develop new price indexes for automobiles back to
1906; trace the role of the air conditioner in the development of the
American south; and treat the germ theory of disease as an economic
innovation. In Part II essays measure the economic impact of more
recent innovations, including anti-ulcer drugs, new breakfast cereals,
and computers. Part III explores methods and defects in the treatment
of quality change in the official price data of the United States,
Canada, and Japan. This pathbreaking volume will interest anyone who
studies economic growth, productivity, and the American standard of
living.
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Product details
ISBN
9780226074184
Published
2018
Edition
1. edition
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Language
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Author