[PDF] Conspicuous Consumption And Race eBook

Author : Kerwin Kofi Charles
Publisher :
Page : 80 pages
File Size : 40,71 MB
Release : 2007
Category : Consumption (Economics)
ISBN :

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Using nationally representative data on consumption, we show that Blacks and Hispanics devote larger shares of their expenditure bundles to visible goods (clothing, jewelry, and cars) than do comparable Whites. We demonstrate that these differences exist among virtually all sub-populations, that they are relatively constant over time, and that they are economically large. While racial differences in utility preference parameters might account for a portion of these consumption differences, we emphasize instead a model of status seeking in which conspicuous consumption is used to reflect a household's economic position relative to a reference group. Using merged data on race and state level income, we demonstrate that a key prediction of our model -- that visible consumption should be declining in mean reference group income -- is strongly borne out in the data separately for each racial group. Moreover, we show that accounting for differences in reference group income characteristics explains most of the racial difference in visible consumption. We conclude with an assessment of the role of conspicuous consumption in explaining lower spending by racial minorities on items likes health and education, as well as their lower rates of wealth accumulation.

Author : Lilach Gilady
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 235 pages
File Size : 15,30 MB
Release : 2018-03-06
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 022643334X

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If wars are costly and risky to both sides, why do they occur? Why engage in an arms race when it’s clear that increasing one’s own defense expenditures will only trigger a similar reaction by the other side, leaving both countries just as insecure—and considerably poorer? Just as people buy expensive things precisely because they are more expensive, because they offer the possibility of improved social status or prestige, so too do countries, argues Lilach Gilady. In The Price of Prestige, Gilady shows how many seemingly wasteful government expenditures that appear to contradict the laws of demand actually follow the pattern for what are known as Veblen goods, or positional goods for which demand increases alongside price, even when cheaper substitutes are readily available. From flashy space programs to costly weapons systems a country does not need and cannot maintain to foreign aid programs that offer little benefit to recipients, these conspicuous and strategically timed expenditures are intended to instill awe in the observer through their wasteful might. And underestimating the important social role of excess has serious policy implications. Increasing the cost of war, for example, may not always be an effective tool for preventing it, Gilady argues, nor does decreasing the cost of weapons and other technologies of war necessarily increase the potential for conflict, as shown by the case of a cheap fighter plane whose price tag drove consumers away. In today’s changing world, where there are high levels of uncertainty about the distribution of power, Gilady also offers a valuable way to predict which countries are most likely to be concerned about their position and therefore adopt costly, excessive policies.

Author : Elizabeth Currid-Halkett
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 267 pages
File Size : 34,82 MB
Release : 2017-05-15
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 1400884691

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How the leisure class has been replaced by a new elite, and how their consumer habits affect us all In today’s world, the leisure class has been replaced by a new elite. Highly educated and defined by cultural capital rather than income bracket, these individuals earnestly buy organic, carry NPR tote bags, and breast-feed their babies. They care about discreet, inconspicuous consumption—like eating free-range chicken and heirloom tomatoes, wearing organic cotton shirts and TOMS shoes, and listening to the Serial podcast. They use their purchasing power to hire nannies and housekeepers, to cultivate their children’s growth, and to practice yoga and Pilates. In The Sum of Small Things, Elizabeth Currid-Halkett dubs this segment of society “the aspirational class” and discusses how, through deft decisions about education, health, parenting, and retirement, the aspirational class reproduces wealth and upward mobility, deepening the ever-wider class divide. Exploring the rise of the aspirational class, Currid-Halkett considers how much has changed since the 1899 publication of Thorstein Veblen’s Theory of the Leisure Class. In that inflammatory classic, which coined the phrase “conspicuous consumption,” Veblen described upper-class frivolities: men who used walking sticks for show, and women who bought silver flatware despite the effectiveness of cheaper aluminum utensils. Now, Currid-Halkett argues, the power of material goods as symbols of social position has diminished due to their accessibility. As a result, the aspirational class has altered its consumer habits away from overt materialism to more subtle expenditures that reveal status and knowledge. And these transformations influence how we all make choices. With a rich narrative and extensive interviews and research, The Sum of Small Things illustrates how cultural capital leads to lifestyle shifts and what this forecasts, not just for the aspirational class but for everyone.

Author : Cait Lamberton
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 873 pages
File Size : 49,64 MB
Release : 2023-04-06
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 1009243942

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In the last two years, consumers have experienced massive changes in consumption – whether due to shifts in habits; the changing information landscape; challenges to their identity, or new economic experiences of scarcity or abundance. What can we expect from these experiences? How are the world's leading thinkers applying both foundational knowledge and novel insights as we seek to understand consumer psychology in a constantly changing landscape? And how can informed readers both contribute to and evaluate our knowledge? This handbook offers a critical overview of both fundamental topics in consumer psychology and those that are of prominence in the contemporary marketplace, beginning with an examination of individual psychology and broadening to topics related to wider cultural and marketplace systems. The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology, 2nd edition, will act as a valuable guide for teachers and graduate and undergraduate students in psychology, marketing, management, economics, sociology, and anthropology.

Author : Kenneth K. Kurihara
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 463 pages
File Size : 10,94 MB
Release : 2013-10-08
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 1136517855

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This volume represents the extension of Keynes' General Theory by a group of eminent economists. Each essay takes Keynes' work as a frame of reference for criticism, explorations and insights, whilst adding to the superstructure on the foundation of the General Theory. The essays also provide the necessary sense of perspective with a view to examining the Keynesian contribution to economic thought and also the limitations of Keynesian economics. The international contributors include: Dudley Dillard, Martin Bronfenbrenner, Mabel F. Timlin, William S. Vickrey, Don Patinkin, Howard R. Bowen, Gerald M. Meier, R.C.O. Matthews, Shinichi Ichimura, Anatol Murad, Lawrence R. Klein, Shigeto Tsuru, Paul P. Streeten, Lorie Tarshis and Franco Modigliani.

Author : Chinmayi Srikanth
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 36,94 MB
Release : 2023
Category :
ISBN : 9789292673864

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The extant literature on status-signalling primarily adopts Veblen's theory of class to caste and racial identities. This study aims to adopt a more suitable theoretical lens that is more relevant not only for class identities, but also for other identities such as caste and race. By viewing conspicuous consumption within the Stigma-Identity-Threat framework, this study analyses how socially disadvantaged groups in India respond to stigma through their consumption behaviour. Using two rounds of the India Human Development Survey data (2004-05 and 2011-12), we study whether disadvantaged social groups embrace or distance themselves from their stigmatized identity. We find that SC (Scheduled Castes), ST (Scheduled Tribes), and OBC (Other Backward Classes) households among caste groups, and Muslims among religious groups, tend to move away from their devalued identities. While OBCs achieve this through productive expenditures, SCs, STs, and Muslims use unproductive means.

Author : Bill Cosby
Publisher : Thomas Nelson Inc
Page : 284 pages
File Size : 12,92 MB
Release : 2009-01-05
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1418572055

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In Come On, People, Bill Cosby and Alvin F. Poussaint tell an inspiring story about human beings fighting hardships and succeeding. It is a story about strong, resilient people who have overcome poverty and mistreatment. Do not be surprised if you find yourself identifying personally with the stories because you see the same struggle in either yourself or in an acquaintance or a relative. It is a stirring call for us all to complete the daunting transition from victims to victors, from helplessness to hope. Come On, People will encourage you to set aside excuses and make a better life today—for you, for your children, for your community, and for your future.