Showing papers on "Consumption (economics) published in 2012"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the nature of access as it contrasts to ownership and sharing, specifically the consumer-object, consumer-consumer, and consumer-marketer relationships, and identify four outcomes of negative reciprocity resulting in a big-brother model of governance, and a deterrence of brand community.
Abstract: Access-based consumption, defined as transactions that can be market mediated but where no transfer of ownership takes place, is becoming increasingly popular, yet it is not well theorized. This study examines the nature of access as it contrasts to ownership and sharing, specifically the consumer-object, consumer-consumer, and consumer-marketer relationships. Six dimensions are identified to distinguish among the range of access-based consumptionscapes: temporality, anonymity, market mediation, consumer involvement, the type of accessed object, and political consumerism. Access-based consumption is examined in the context of car sharing via an interpretive study of Zipcar consumers. Four outcomes of these dimensions in the context of car sharing are identified: lack of identification, varying significance of use and sign value, negative reciprocity resulting in a big-brother model of governance, and a deterrence of brand community. The implications of our findings for understanding the nature of exchange, consumption, and brand community are discussed.
1,661 citations
TL;DR: This paper presents a review that highlights the contribution of operations research to green logistics, which involves the integration of environmental aspects in logistics, and indicates several areas where environmental aspects could be included in OR models for logistics.
707 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a new methodology for identifying time preferences, both discounting and curvature, from simple allocation decisions, finding reasonable levels of both discount and curvatures and, surprisingly, dynamically consistent time preferences.
Abstract: Experimentally elicited discount rates are frequently higher than what seems reasonable for economic decision-making. Such high rates are often attributed to present-biased discounting. A well-known bias of standard measurements is the assumption of linear consumption utility. Attempting to correct this bias using measures of risk aversion to identify concavity, researchers find reasonable discounting but at the cost of exceptionally high utility function curvature. We present a new methodology for identifying time preferences, both discounting and curvature, from simple allocation decisions. We find reasonable levels of both discounting and curvature and, surprisingly, dynamically consistent time preferences. (JEL C91, D12, D81) Understanding and estimating time preferences is obviously of great importance to economists, marketers, and policy makers. Consumers decide how much to invest in savings, education, real estate, and life insurance, how much to diet, exercise, and smoke, whether to marry, when to have children, and what to leave in their wills. While there has been substantial research estimating time preferences using aggregate consumption data, 1 the bulk of the effort has occurred in laboratory environments. 2 Among the many laboratory techniques employed, recent studies have favored multiple price lists (MPL) with monetary payments. 3 With MPLs, individuals are asked multiple times to choose between smaller payment amounts closer to the present and larger amounts further into the future. The interest rate increases monotonically in a price list, such that the point where an individual switches from preferring sooner payments to later payments carries interval
582 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the long-run and causal relationships between renewable and non-renewable energy consumption and economic growth by using classical and augmented production functions, and making a comparison between renewable energy sources in order to determine which type of energy consumption is more important for economic growth in G7 countries for 1980-2009 period.
541 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compared China and India using the bounds testing approach to cointegration and the ARDL methodology to test the long and short-run relationships between growth, trade, energy use and endogenously determined structural breaks.
509 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the impact of a number of psychological factors on consumers' propensity to engage in the “bandwagon” type of luxury consumption, and empirically confirmed a conceptual model of bandwagon consumption of luxury products.
388 citations
TL;DR: Overall, the EU displaced all three types of environmental pressures to the rest of the world, through imports of products with embodied pressures, while the UK was the most important displacer overall and the largest net exporters of embodied environmental pressures were Poland, France, and Spain.
Abstract: A nation’s consumption of goods and services causes various environmental pressures all over the world due to international trade. We use a multiregional input–output model to assess three kinds of environmental footprints for the member states of the European Union. Footprints are indicators that take the consumer responsibility approach to account for the total direct and indirect effects of a product or consumption activity. We quantify the total environmental pressures (greenhouse gas emissions: carbon footprint; appropriation of biologically productive land and water area: land footprint; and freshwater consumption: water footprint) caused by consumption in the EU. We find that the consumption activities by an average EU citizen in 2004 led to 13.3 tCO2e of induced greenhouse gas emissions, appropriation of 2.53 gha (hectares of land with global-average biological productivity), and consumption of 179 m3 of blue water (ground and surface water). By comparison, the global averages were 5.7 tCO2e, 1.23...
381 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors estimate the building sector energy end-use intensity (kwh/m2 floor area) for space heating, domestic hot water, electricity for space cooling and electricity for non-space cooling applications in New York City.
380 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the possible existence of dynamic causality between energy consumption, electricity consumption, carbon emissions and economic growth in Bangladesh and found that energy consumption can be considered as an important factor for the economic growth.
366 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: Measures of real consumption based upon the ownership of durable goods, the quality of housing, the health and mortality of children, the education of youth and the allocation of female time in the household indicate that sub-Saharan living standards have, for the past two decades, been growing about 3.4 to 3.7 percent per annum, i.e. three and a half to four times the rate indicated in international data sets as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Measures of real consumption based upon the ownership of durable goods, the quality of housing, the health and mortality of children, the education of youth and the allocation of female time in the household indicate that sub-Saharan living standards have, for the past two decades, been growing about 3.4 to 3.7 percent per annum, i.e. three and a half to four times the rate indicated in international data sets.
325 citations
TL;DR: Firms whose digital business models remain viable in a world of "freemium" will be those that take a strategic rather than techno-centric view of social media, that integrate social media into the consumption and purchase experience rather than use it merely as a substitute for offline soft marketing.
Abstract: The content industry has been undergoing a tremendous transformation in the last two decades. We focus in this paper on recent changes in the form of social computing. Although the content industry has implemented social computing to a large extent, it has done so from a techno-centric approach in which social features are viewed as complementary rather than integral to content. This approach does not capitalize on users’ social behavior in the website and does not answer the content industry’s need to elicit payment from consumers. We suggest that both these objectives can be achieved by acknowledging the fusion between content and community, making the social experience central to the content website's digital business strategy. We use data from Last.fm, a site offering both music consumption and online community features. The basic use of Last.fm is free, and premium services are provided for a fixed monthly subscription fee. Although the premium services on Last.fm are mainly aimed at improving the content consumption experience, we find that willingness to pay for premium services is strongly associated with the level of community participation of the user. Drawing from the literature on levels of participation in online communities, we show that consumers’ willingness to pay increases as they climb the so-called ‘ladder of participation’ on the website. Moreover, we find that willingness to pay is more strongly linked to community participation than to the volume of content consumption. We control for self-selection bias by using propensity score matching. We extend our results by estimating a hazard model to study the effect of community activity on the time between joining the website and the subscription decision. Our results suggest that firms whose digital business models remain viable in a world of “freemium” will be those that take a strategic rather than techno-centric view of social media, that integrate social media into the consumption and purchase experience rather than using it merely as a substitute for offline soft marketing. We provide new evidence of the importance of fusing social computing with content delivery and, in the process, lay a foundation for a broader strategic path for the digital content industry in an age of growing user participation.
TL;DR: The authors analyzes the role of specialized high-skilled labor in the growth of the service sector as a share of the total economy and finds that the growth has been driven by the consumption of services rather than being driven by low-skill jobs.
Abstract: This paper analyzes the role of specialized high-skilled labor in the growth of the service sector as a share of the total economy. Empirically, we emphasize that the growth has been driven by the consumption of services. Rather than being driven by low-skill jobs, the importance of skill-intensive services has risen, and this has coincided with a period of rising relative wages and quantities of high-skilled labor. We develop a theory where demand shifts toward ever more skill-intensive output as income rises, and because skills are highly specialized this lowers the importance of home production relative to market services. The theory is also consistent with a rising level of skill and skill premium, a rising relative price of services that is linked to this skill premium, and rich product cycles between home and market, all of which are observed in the data.
TL;DR: In this paper, the extent to which consumers consider ethics in luxury goods consumption was explored and it was found that consumers' propensity to consider ethics is significantly lower in luxury purchases when compared to commoditized purchases.
Abstract: This article explores the extent to which consumers consider ethics in luxury goods consumption. In particular, it explores whether there is a significant difference between consumers’ propensity to consider ethics in luxury versus commodity purchase and whether consumers are ready to purchase ethical-luxury. Prior research in ethical consumption focuses on low value, commoditized product categories such as food, cosmetics and high street apparel. It is debatable if consumers follow similar ethical consumption patterns in luxury purchases. Findings indicate that consumers’ propensity to consider ethics is significantly lower in luxury purchases when compared to commoditized purchases and explores some of the potential reasons for this reduced propensity to identify or act upon ethical issues in luxury consumption.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth using the ARDL bounds testing and Gregory and Hansen (1990) structural break cointegration approaches for long run while stationarity properties of the variables have been tested applying the Clemente-Montanes-Reyes (1998), structural break unit root test.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed a Multi-Regional Input-Output model (MRIO) to assess the regional virtual water flows between the three reaches of the basin and the rest of China distinguishing green and blue water, as well as rural and urban household water footprints.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on price and income elasticities in existing studies to see what can be learned from them, and use statistical analysis to investigate whether income and price elasticities seem to be constant across countries with different incomes and prices.
TL;DR: Measures of real consumption based on the ownership of durable goods, the quality of housing, health and mortality of children, education of youths, and the allocation of female time in the household indicate that sub-Saharan living standards have, for the past two decades, been growing about 3.4-3.7 percent per year, that is, three and a half to four times the rate indicated in international data sets.
Abstract: Measures of real consumption based on the ownership of durable goods, the quality of housing, the health and mortality of children, the education of youths, and the allocation of female time in the household indicate that sub-Saharan living standards have, for the past two decades, been growing about 3.4–3.7 percent per year, that is, three and a half to four times the rate indicated in international data sets.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors presented the first trade balances and consumption indicators for embodied materials in a time series from 1995 to 2005, and provided a quantitative comparison between conventionally applied indicators on material consumption based on direct material flows and indicators including embodied material flows.
Abstract: Production and consumption activities in industrialized countries are increasingly dependent on material and energy resources from other world regions and imply significant economic and environmental consequences in other regions around the world. The substitution of domestic material extraction and processing through imports is also shifting environmental burden abroad and thus extends the responsibility for environmental impacts as well as social consequences from the national to the global level. Based on the results of the Global Resource Accounting Model, this paper presents the first trade balances and consumption indicators for embodied materials in a time series from 1995 to 2005. The model includes 53 countries and two world regions. It is based on the 2009 edition of the input–output tables and bilateral trade data published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and is extended by physical data on global material extraction. The results quantify the global shift of embodied material resources from developing and emerging countries to the industrialized world. In addition to the level of industrialization and wealth, population density is identified as an important factor for the formation of physical trade patterns. Exports of embodied materials of less densely populated countries tend to surpass their imports, and vice versa. We also provide a quantitative comparison between conventionally applied indicators on material consumption based on direct material flows and indicators including embodied material flows. We show that the difference between those two indicators can be as much as 200%, calling for an adjustment of conventional national material flow indicators. Multi-regional input–output models prove to be a useful methodological approach to derive globally consistent and comprehensive data on material embodiments of trade and consumption.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the relationship between coal consumption and income in China using both supply-side and demand-side frameworks, and showed that there is a unidirectional causality running from coal consumption to output in both the short and long run under both the supply side and demand side analysis.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the first issue by applying Toda-Yamamoto procedure and bootstrap-corrected causality test for the US since empirical literature criticizes the Toda Yamamoto test which bases on asymptotic distribution.
Abstract: Recent debates about renewable energy consumption manifest two main expectations. Firstly, renewable energy consumption should contribute to economic growth and secondly, it should not cause damage on environment. This study focuses on the first issue by applying Toda–Yamamoto procedure and bootstrap-corrected causality test for the US since empirical literature criticizes the Toda–Yamamoto test which bases on asymptotic distribution. The models consist of real GDP, employment, investment and kinds of renewable energy consumption. Only one causal relationship was found from biomass-waste-derived energy consumption to real GDP. No causal relationship was found between real GDP and all of the other renewable energy kinds—total renewable energy consumption, geothermal energy consumption, hydro-electric energy consumption, biomass energy consumption and biomass-wood-derived energy consumption. That is using of energy from waste cause not only solving the dumping problems but also it contributes to real GDP. For policy purpose, the results of this study suggest that countries should concentrate on energy producing from waste as an alternative energy resource.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the relations between luxury consumption, materialism and cognitive and affective subjective well-being aspects simultaneously, in a structural model, and found that materialistic consumers not only engage more in luxury consumption than less materialistic, but also benefit more from it (at least in the short run).
Abstract: Materialism is a way of life characterized by the pursuit of wealth and possessions. Several studies have documented that a materialistic lifestyle is associated with diminished subjective well-being. In spite of this, many people continue to pursue materialistic goals rather than pursue goals that are more beneficial for their well-being. The current paper investigates one mechanism that may contribute to the continued pursuit of materialism. In particular, we propose that luxury consumption may reinforce a materialistic lifestyle. To test this possibility, we investigate the relations between luxury consumption, materialism and cognitive and affective subjective well-being aspects simultaneously, in a structural model. The results of a large scale survey in Dutch-speaking Belgium demonstrate that materialistic consumers are more inclined to consume luxury goods than less materialistic consumers. In addition, luxury consumption leads to enhanced positive mood, diminished negative mood and increased satisfaction with life. Furthermore, although the impact on negative and positive mood is not moderated by materialism, the impact of luxury consumption on satisfaction with life is more pronounced for materialistic consumers than for less materialistic consumers. Together, these results indicate that materialistic consumers not only engage more in luxury consumption than less materialistic consumers, but also benefit more from it (at least in the short run). As a result, luxury consumption may be more rewarding for the former than for the latter and consequently, “lock in” materialists in their lifestyle, irrespective of the long-term adverse consequences for self and society.
TL;DR: An overview and assessment of the current state of research on individual consumption of Fair Trade (FT) products is given on the basis of 51 journal publications in this article, where most studies apply social psychological approaches focusing mainly on consumer attitudes and economic approaches focusing on consumers willingness to pay ethical premia for FT products or sociological approaches relying on the concept of consumer identity.
Abstract: An overview and assessment of the current state of research on individual consumption of Fair Trade (FT) products is given on the basis of 51 journal publications. Arranging this field of ethical consumption research according to key research objectives, theoretical approaches, methods, and study population, the review suggests that most studies apply social psychological approaches focusing mainly on consumer attitudes. Fewer studies draw on economic approaches focusing on consumers’ willingness to pay ethical premia for FT products or sociological approaches relying on the concept of consumer identity. Experimental, qualitative and conventional survey methods are used approximately equally often. Almost all studies draw on convenience or purposive samples and most studies are conducted in the USA or the United Kingdom. Several problems in current research are identified: amongst others, studies’ rather narrow theoretical focus, potential hypothetical and social desirability bias of conventional survey data, and a lack of generalizability of empirical findings. In turn, we suggest that research would benefit from both a multiple-motives and a multiple-methods perspective. Considering competing theories can help to single out key behavioral determinants of individual FT consumption. The combination of different methods such as conventional surveys and field experiments contributes to uncovering respondents’ truthful answers and improves generalizability of results. Scholars in the field of ethical consumption research should use experiments to detect causal relations proposed by theories and conduct cross-country surveys to gather insights as to how differences in market structures, cultural traits, and other path dependencies affect patterns of individual FT consumption.
TL;DR: Nutrition habits of university students differed across countries and by sex, and students living at parental home displayed more healthy nutrition habits, with some exceptions.
Abstract: The transition of young people from school to university has many health implications. Food choice at the university can differ because of childhood food consumption patterns, sex and the living arrangements. Food consumption may change especially if students are living away from home. We aimed to assess food consumption patterns among university students from four European countries and how they differ by their living arrangements. We analysed data from a cross-country survey assessing health and health behaviours of students. The sample comprised a total of 2402 first year undergraduate students from one university in each of the countries of Germany, Denmark, Poland and Bulgaria. Food consumption was assessed by means of a food frequency questionnaire with 9 food groups (indicators). Students’ food consumption patterns differed across the countries. Frequent consumption of unhealthy items was common. Bulgarian students reported most often frequent consumption of sweets and cakes and snacks (e.g. chips and fast food). Polish students reported the least frequent consumption of vegetables and a low consumption of fruits. Across all countries except Bulgaria, men reported substantially more often frequent consumption of snacks than women. Students living at parental home consumed more fruit, vegetables, and meat than those who resided outside of their family home in all studied countries. There was more variation with regard to cakes and salads with more frequent consumption of cakes among Bulgarian female students and Danish male students and more frequent consumption of salads among Danish female students not living at parental home, compared to students from other countries. Nutrition habits of university students differed across countries and by sex. Students living at parental home displayed more healthy nutrition habits, with some exceptions.
TL;DR: In this paper, a multivariate statistical approach to lifestyle analysis of residential electricity consumption is described and illustrated, and the implications for tailored policy and planning interventions are discussed in relation to lifestyle issues.
TL;DR: In this paper, the relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth in Pakistan by controlling and investigating the effects of two major production factors (i.e., capital and labor) was revisited and the empirical evidence confirmed the cointegration among the variables and indicates that electricity consumption has a positive effect on economic growth.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that consumers can and should be considered as partners that must be involved in realizing new ways of protein consumption that contribute to a more sustainable world, and propose a pragmatic approach that explicitly goes beyond the standard suggestion of persuasion strategies and suggests different routes of change, coined sustainability by stealth, moderate involvement, and cultural change respectively.
Abstract: Our growing demand for meat and dairy food products is unsustainable. It is hard to imagine that this global issue can be solved solely by more efficient technologies. Lowering our meat consumption seems inescapable. Yet, the question is whether modern consumers can be considered as reliable allies to achieve this shift in meat consumption pattern. Is there not a yawning gap between our responsible intentions as citizens and our hedonic desires as consumers? We will argue that consumers can and should be considered as partners that must be involved in realizing new ways of protein consumption that contribute to a more sustainable world. In particular the large food consumer group of flexitarians offer promising opportunities for transforming our meat consumption patterns. We propose a pragmatic approach that explicitly goes beyond the standard suggestion of persuasion strategies and suggests different routes of change, coined sustainability by stealth, moderate involvement, and cultural change respectively. The recognition of more routes of change to a more plant-based diet implies that the ethical debate on meat should not only associate consumer change with rational persuasion strategies and food citizens that instantiate “strong” sustainable consumption. Such a focus narrows the debate on sustainable protein consumption and easily results in disappointment about consumers’ participation. A more wide-ranging concept of ethical consumption can leave the negative verdict behind that consumers are mainly an obstacle for sustainability and lead to a more optimistic view on modern consumers as allies and agents of change.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the impact of information communication technology (ICT) on electricity consumption in emerging economies and showed a positive and statistically significant relationship between ICT and electricity consumption when ICT is measured using internet connections, mobile phones or the number of PCs.
TL;DR: In this paper, a deep-habit mechanism was proposed to explain the response of the real exchange rate to an estimated government spending shock, and an estimated two-country model with deephabits was shown to replicate the observed responses of output, consumption, and the trade balance.
TL;DR: The results of this research implied that emotion played a significant role in the mobile consumption experience; hedonic factors had a positive effect on the consumption experience, while utilitarian Factors had a negative effect onThe consumption experience of consumers.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this study is to interpret consumers' emotion in their consumption experience in the context of mobile commerce from an experiential view. The study seeks to address concerns about the experiential aspects of mobile commerce regardless of the consumption type. For the purpose, the authors aims to propose a stimulus‐organism‐response (S‐O‐R) based model that incorporates both utilitarian and hedonic factors of consumers.Design/methodology/approach – A survey study was conducted to collect data from 293 mobile phone users. The questionnaire was administered in study classrooms, a library, or via e‐mail. The measurement model and structural model were examined using LISREL 8.7.Findings – The results of this research implied that emotion played a significant role in the mobile consumption experience; hedonic factors had a positive effect on the consumption experience, while utilitarian factors had a negative effect on the consumption experience of consumers. The empirical findings als...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the relationship between product and store-related attributes of eco-fashion and fashion consumers' ecofashion consumption decisions; and if such relationships are subject to the price premium level of ecofashion.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between product‐ and store‐related attributes of eco‐fashion and fashion consumers’ eco‐fashion consumption decisions; and if such relationships are subject to the price premium level of eco‐fashion.Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted with consumers in Hong Kong: in total, 216 consumers participated in the survey. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to check the validity and reliability of the scales. Hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis.Findings – The findings showed that only store‐related attributes of eco‐fashion positively influence consumers’ eco‐fashion consumption decision, yet, such relationship can be weakened by the price premium level of eco‐fashion.Research limitations/implications – Fashion consumers’ response to product‐ and store‐related attributes of eco‐fashion is still important in predicting fashion consumers’ eco‐fashion consumption decision. Fashion consumer environmenta...