Economics and Consumer Behavior

Author: (English) Angus Deaton
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: This book is a classic in the field of economics, published in 1980. It was reprinted in 1981 and 1982, revised and reprinted in 1983, and then reprinted 13 times from 1984 to 1999. It has been widely welcomed in the economics community. For senior undergraduate and graduate students studying economics, this is an excellent reference book. The two authors have long been engaged in research on consumer behavior, with in-depth and extensive studies ranging from theoretical models to practical applications. In this book, they provide a systematic review of research in related fields, a comprehensive overview and summary of research paradigms and related issues in consumer behavior, and strive to offer reasonable explanations for model construction and empirical testing. They offer insightful critiques of the theoretical backgrounds, application paradigms, and limitations of various methods. The authors provide a wealth of references to help us understand the history and current state of research in consumer economics, and their critiques enable us to better understand the context of the issues and directions for further research. There are not many reference books on consumer behavior research both domestically and internationally, making this a rare and excellent book. The first four chapters of the book provide a self-contained exposition of the basic theory of econometrics and its applications. These chapters also include preliminary extensions of the theory to areas such as labor supply, durable goods, consumption functions, and rationing. The rest of the book is divided into three parts. In the first part, the authors discuss limitations in choice and aggregation. The chapters in the second part discuss consumer indices, household characteristics, demand and welfare comparisons, as well as social welfare and inequality. The third part expands the scope of consumer behavior to include theories of product quality and household production, labor supply and human capital theory, consumption functions and intertemporal choice, demand for durable goods, and choice under uncertainty.