NDLI: The evolution of consumption and its welfare effects

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Witt, Ulrich
Copyright Year	2016
Abstract	In this paper the evolution of consumption is explained on the basis of a theory that connects preferences over actions to the motivational forces driving actions. More specifically, the hypotheses about what motivates consumption activities draw on insights from biology, behavioral science, and psychology. With secularly rising income, the growing consumption opportunities and the expanding consumption alter the underlying motivational forces and induce a change of preferences. As a consequence, the structure of consumption expenditures is systematically transformed. In the light of this explanation, the paper analyzes the effects of the growth and transformation of consumption on individual welfare. As turns out, the motivations driving the growth of consumption do not necessarily imply that this growth indeed results in welfare increases, particularly when the ability to spend on consumption is already high. Moreover, when preferences change, the measurement of the welfare effects of the growth and transformation of consumption depends on the arbitrary choice of a reference point. This implies an ambiguity that raises further queries about the normative foundations of the ubiquitous calls for continued consumption growth.
Starting Page	273
Ending Page	293
Page Count	21
File Format	PDF
ISSN	09369937
Journal	Journal of Evolutionary Economics
Volume Number	27
Issue Number	2
e-ISSN	14321386
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Publisher Date	2016-05-06
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Consumption Growth Satiation Consumer learning Preference change Institutional/Evolutionary Economics Economic Theory/Quantitative Economics/Mathematical Methods Microeconomics Economic Growth R & D/Technology Policy Entrepreneurship
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Economics and Econometrics Business, Management and Accounting

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

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