> Modern nails are different from the nails in the 60's. The variation of types is noted in the paper; for example: > How best to account for identifiable dif

> Modern nails are different from the nails in the 60's. The variation of types is noted in the paper; for example: > How best to account for identifiable differences in holding power, shipping costs, and any other relevant characteristics of different types of nails? One modern approach is to construct a so-called hedonic price index that would use statistical techniques to explicitly account for all relevant characteristics of nails and for how the marketplace valued those characteristics. Data limitations make that impossible in this case. Thus, I use another common technique, a matched- model procedure. This methodology links the cents-per-nail prices in Figure 3 across the switchover points from one type of nail to another; this linking will accurately adjust for quality change to the extent that the rice/performance ratio for nails was equalized by the market in periods when multiple types of nails were available. This approach is a sensible and widely used methodology to construct a consistent price index that adjusts for changes in quality over time so that like can be compared to like given available data. Specifically, I start with the prices for the most recent period (the black segment for wire nails), and then link backwards. In each of the crossover years (1890, 1814, and 1784), I use the price from the more recent type of nail and link and extend backwards from that year using percent changes in prices for the earlier type of nails in the earlier years. Different types of nails is also brought up in an interview with the author on the Odd Lots podcast (Feb 7): * https://player.fm/series/series-1504378/this-is-what-happened-to-the-price-of-nails-over-the-last-330-years https://player.fm/series/series-1504378/this-is-what-happene...