Consumption (economics)
hideConsumption is a common concept in economics, and gives rise to derived concepts such as consumer debt. Generally consumption is defined by opposition to production. But the precise definition can vary because different schools of economists define production quite differently. According to some economists, only the final purchase of goods and services constitutes consumption, and every other commercial activity is some form of production. Other economists define consumption much more broadly, as the aggregate of all economic activity that does not entail the design, production and marketing of goods and services (e.g. "the selection, adoption, use, disposal and recycling of goods and services").
Likewise, consumption can be measured by a variety of different metrics such as energy in energy economics . The total consumer spending in an economy is generally calculated using the consumption function, a metric devised by John Maynard Keynes, which simply takes the aggregate disposable income and multiplies it by a "marginal propensity to consume". This metric essentially defines consumption as the part of disposable income that does not go into savings. But disposable income in turn can be defined in a number of ways - e.g. to include borrowed funds or expenditures from savings.
For more information about Consumption (economics), read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with spending
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Nov 26, 2009 |
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Top Japanese scientists, including four Nobel laureates, have criticised the new government for plans to slash research budgets, warning the country will loose its high-tech edge.
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'Rational drug design' identifies fragments of FDA-approved drugs relevant to emerging viruses
Dec 06, 2009 |
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A massive, data-crunching computer search program that matches fragments of potential drug molecules to the known shapes of viral surface proteins has identified several FDA-approved drugs that could be the basis for new ...
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Dec 04, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Lawmakers have wooed seniors skeptical of the health care overhaul by emphasizing the plan would close the "doughnut hole" - a gap in Medicare drug coverage that can cost thousands of dollars a year.
Crew plans to cut rope to free Hawaii whale
Dec 04, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Marine sanctuary officials planned to return to Hawaii waters with modified equipment Friday to try to cut loose a young humpback whale entangled in several hundred yards of heavy plastic rope.
Comcast-NBC deal shows future is in content
Dec 04, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Comcast Corp. is buying control of NBC Universal from GE largely because Comcast wants to own more movies and TV shows. The point is to give it a position of strength if fewer people sign up for its ...
Global warming may require higher dams, stilts
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(AP) -- With the world losing the battle against global warming so far, experts are warning that humans need to follow nature's example: Adapt or die.
Novel carbon-trading scheme could stop large-scale extinctions
Dec 03, 2009 |
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A new strategy for saving tropical forest species was published in the leading journal Science on the eve of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark, by a team of researchers, includ ...
Broadband stimulus moves at dial-up speeds
Dec 03, 2009 |
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Mark Morgenthaler wants nothing more than to hire 15 people to help expand his wireless Internet service, Surfnet Communications in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He can't wait to start accepting applications, interviewing candidates, ...
Male and female shopping strategies show evolution at work in the mall
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Dec 02, 2009 |
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Male and female shopping styles are in our genes---and we can look to evolution for the reason. Daniel Kruger, research faculty at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, says it's perfectly natural that men often ...
Chances of surviving cardiac arrest at home or work unchanged in 30 years
Dec 02, 2009 |
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The chance of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest has not improved since the 1950s, according to a report by the University of Michigan Health System.
Yahoo plugs into Facebook to become more popular
Dec 02, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Yahoo Inc. will lean more heavily on Facebook's popularity as it tries to give people more reasons to stay on its Web site.
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