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Relative Income Hypothesis
Developed by James Duesenberry, the relative income hypothesis states that an individual’s attitude to consumption and saving is dictated more by his income in relation to others than by abstract standard of living; the percentage of income consumed by an individual depends on his percentile position within the income distribution In economics, income distribution covers how a country's total GDP is distributed amongst its population. Economic theory and economic policy have long seen income and its distribution as a central concern. Unequal distribution of income causes ec .... Secondly, it hypothesizes that the present consumption is not influenced merely by present levels of absolute and relative income, but also by levels of consumption attained in a previous period. It is difficult for a family to reduce a level of consumption once attained. The aggregate ratio of consumption to income is assumed to depend on the level of present income relative to past peak income. Ref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Duesenberry
James Stemble Duesenberry (July 18, 1918 – October 5, 2009) was an American economist. He made a significant contribution to the Keynesian analysis of income and employment with his 1949 doctoral thesis ''Income, Saving and the Theory of Consumer Behavior''. In ''Income, Saving and the Theory of Consumer Behavior'', Duesenberry questioned basic economic assumptions about consumer behavior. He argued that consumer theory failed to take into account the importance of habit formation in establishing spending patterns. He also stressed the importance of social environment in determining an individual's level of expenditures. He proposed a mechanism called the "demonstration effect" by which people would modify their consumption patterns, not because of changes in income or prices, but from witnessing the consumption expenditures of others that they came into contact with. This phenomenon, he argued, was driven by the interdependence of people's preferences and the need to maintai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consumption (economics)
Consumption is the act of using resources to satisfy current needs and wants. It is seen in contrast to investing, which is spending for acquisition of ''future'' income. Consumption is a major concept in economics and is also studied in many other social sciences. Different schools of economists define consumption differently. According to mainstream economists, only the final purchase of newly produced goods and services by individuals for immediate use constitutes consumption, while other types of expenditure — in particular, fixed investment, intermediate consumption, and government spending — are placed in separate categories (see consumer choice). Other economists define consumption much more broadly, as the aggregate of all economic activity that does not entail the design, production and marketing of goods and services (e.g. the selection, adoption, use, disposal and recycling of goods and services). Economists are particularly interested in the relationship betwee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saving
Saving is income not spent, or deferred consumption. Methods of saving include putting money aside in, for example, a deposit account, a pension account, an investment fund, or as cash. Saving also involves reducing expenditures, such as recurring costs. In terms of personal finance, saving generally specifies low-risk preservation of money, as in a deposit account, versus investment, wherein risk is a lot higher; in economics more broadly, it refers to any income not used for immediate consumption. Saving does not automatically include interest. ''Saving'' differs from ''savings''. The former refers to the act of not consuming one's assets, whereas the latter refers to either multiple opportunities to reduce costs; or one's assets in the form of cash. Saving refers to an activity occurring over time, a flow variable, whereas savings refers to something that exists at any one time, a stock variable. This distinction is often misunderstood, and even professional economists an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standard Of Living
Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality of life. Standard of living is generally concerned with objective metrics outside an individual's personal control, such as economic, societal, political and environmental matters – such things that an individual might consider when evaluating where to live in the world, or when assessing the success of economic policy. In international law, an "adequate standard of living" was first described in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and further described in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. To evaluate the impact of policy for sustainable development, different disciplines have defined Decent Living Standards in order to evaluate or compare relative living experience. During much of its use in e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Income Distribution
In economics, income distribution covers how a country's total GDP is distributed amongst its population. Economic theory and economic policy have long seen income and its distribution as a central concern. Unequal distribution of income causes economic inequality which is a concern in almost all countries around the world. Classical economists such as Adam Smith (1723–1790), Thomas Malthus (1766–1834), and David Ricardo (1772–1823) concentrated their attention on factor income-distribution, that is, the distribution of income between the primary factors of production (land, labour and capital). Modern economists have also addressed issues of income distribution, but have focused more on the distribution of income across individuals and households. Important theoretical and policy concerns include the balance between income inequality and economic growth, and their often inverse relationship. The Lorenz curve can represent the distribution of income within a society. The Lore ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Economic Theories
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes what's viewed as basic elements in the economy, including individual agents and markets, their interactions, and the outcomes of interactions. Individual agents may include, for example, households, firms, buyers, and sellers. Macroeconomics analyzes the economy as a system where production, consumption, saving, and investment interact, and factors affecting it: employment of the resources of labour, capital, and land, currency inflation, economic growth, and public policies that have impact on these elements. Other broad distinctions within economics include those between positive economics, describing "what is", and normative economics, advocating "what ought to be"; between economic theory and applied economics; between rational and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
