Best Prices: Price Discrimination and Consumer Substitution
提出一种聚合价格的方法，考虑零售商通过周期性促销对异质消费者进行价格歧视，其中最优价格是精确价格指数的一部分，能改善通胀测量与实际支付价格的一致性。
This paper proposes a method for aggregating prices when retailers use periodic sales to price-discriminate amongst heterogeneous customers. In the motivating model, loyal customers buy one brand and do not strategically time purchases, while Bargain Hunters always pay the lowest price available, the “best price.” In the model, the best price is part of an exact price index. Accounting for the best price also substantially improves the empirical match between conventional price aggregation strategies and actual prices paid by consumers. The methodology improves inflation measurement while imposing little burden on the data-collection agency.