Glossary of economics research
Results of search for hedonic follow:
hedonic:
of or relating to utility. (Literally, pleasure-related.) A hedonic
econometric model is one where the independent variables measure attributes of
what is to be exchanged; e.g. various qualities of a product that one might
buy or of a job one might take. The measured qualities form a bundle of
attributes which are combined in the resulting product. Each attribute can be
thought of as affecting the price, either independently or in particular
combinations with other attributes, and these effects can be
estimated.
A hedonic model of wages might correspond to the idea that there are
compensating differentials -- that workers would get higher wages for jobs
that were more unpleasant.
"A product that meets several needs, or has a variety of features ...
generates a number of hedonic services. Each one of these services can be
thought of as generating its own demand, along with a resulting hedonic price.
Although each separate component is not observable, the aggregation of all the
components results in the observed product demand and equilibrium price....
[Q]uality improvements will appear to an observer as an outward shift of the
product demand curve, as consumers are willing to purchase more at the
prevailing price." -- William J. White, "A Hedonic Index of Farm
Tractor Prices: 1910-1955", Ohio State University working paper, October
1998, pp. 3-4.
Contexts: econometrics
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