According to a 2001 study by Berndt and Rappaport, the average price of desktop computers in the United States declined such that the 1999 price was only 0.069 percent of the 1976 price—a 1,445-fold decrease over 23 years. Does this imply that U.S. consumers’ purchasing power increased 1,445 times during that period? What do increases or decreases in individual goods’ price levels tell us about inflation? About consumers’ purchasing power?