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Relative Income Hypothesis
The relative income hypothesis was developed by James Duesenberry in 1949. It consists of two separate consumption hypothesis. The first hypothesis states that an individual's attitude to consumption is dictated more by their income in relation to others than by an abstract standard of living. The percentage of income consumed by an individual depends on their 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 e .... The second hypothesis states that the present consumption is influenced not merely by present levels of absolute and relative income but also by levels of consumption attained in a previous period. In Duesenberry's opinion, it is difficult for a family to reduce a level of consumption once it is attained. The aggregate rati ...
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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 with whom they came into contact. That phenomenon, he argued, was driven by the interdependence of people's preferences and the need to maintain or ...
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Consumption (economics)
Consumption refers to the use of resources to fulfill present needs and desires. 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 economics, mainstream economists, only the final purchase of newly produced Good (economics), goods and Service (economics), 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). E ...
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Standard Of Living
Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available to an individual, community or society. A contributing factor 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. Individuals or groups use the standard of living to evaluate where to live in the world, or when assessing the success of society. 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 economics, improvements to standard of living were thought to be directly connected to eco ...
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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. About 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 (economics), distribution of income between the primary factors of production (Land (economics), land, Labour economics, labour and Capital (economics), 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 relati ...
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Economic Theories
Economics () is a behavioral 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 analyses what is viewed as basic elements within economies, including individual agents and markets, their interactions, and the outcomes of interactions. Individual agents may include, for example, households, firms, buyers, and sellers. Macroeconomics analyses economies as systems where production, distribution, consumption, savings, and investment expenditure interact; and the factors of production affecting them, such as: labour, capital, land, and enterprise, inflation, economic growth, and public policies that impact these elements. It also seeks to analyse and describe the global economy. Other broad distinctions within economics include those between positive economics, describing "what is", and normative economics, advocatin ...
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Behavioral Economics
Behavioral economics is the study of the psychological (e.g. cognitive, behavioral, affective, social) factors involved in the decisions of individuals or institutions, and how these decisions deviate from those implied by traditional economic theory. Behavioral economics is primarily concerned with the bounds of rationality of economic agents. Behavioral models typically integrate insights from psychology, neuroscience and microeconomic theory. Behavioral economics began as a distinct field of study in the 1970s and 1980s, but can be traced back to 18th-century economists, such as Adam Smith, who deliberated how the economic behavior of individuals could be influenced by their desires. The status of behavioral economics as a subfield of economics is a fairly recent development; the breakthroughs that laid the foundation for it were published through the last three decades of the 20th century. Behavioral economics is still growing as a field, being used increasingly in ...
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