Chapter Eight: Consumption and the Consumer Society

Economic Theory and Consumption

Figure 8.1: The Budget Line

Figure 8.2: Effect of an Increase in Income

Figure 8.3: Effect of a Fall in a Price

Table 8.1: Quong’s Utility from Chocolate Bars

Figure 8.4: Quong’s Utility Function for Chocolate Bars

Consumption in Historical and International Context

Figure 8.5: Revolving Debt in the United States, , Adjusted for Inflation

Consumption in a Social Context

Figure 8.6: Global Advertising Expenditures, by Country/Region, 2011 Source: Advertising Age, December 5, 2011.

Consumption in an Environmental Context

Figure 8.7: Ecological Footprint per Capita, Select Countries, 2007 Source: Global Footprint Network,

Appendix: A Formal Theory of Consumer Behavior

Figure 8.8: The Budget Line and Its Slope

Figure 8.9: An Indifference Curve

Figure 8.10: Different Levels of Utility

Figure 8.11: Utility Maximization

Figure 8.12: Response to a Change in Price