| From the micro perspective, the consumption is the origin of consumer utility, is an important decision variables of the pursuit of utility maximization "the rational person", is an important object of economic individual micro analysis; from the macro perspective, the consumption is an important component of aggregate demand, has been an important object of macroeconomic regulation and control, and the consumption of the opposite--savings, is the source of capital accumulation, is the main determinant of economic growth and development factor. Both in the micro or macro level, consumption theory occupy very important position, long-term since economists have focused on the study of consumption.This paper attempts to take the time sequence as the research framework, mainly uses the literature analysis, historical analysis and comparative analysis, on the evolution from the mercantilism period, the classical period, the marginal revolution and new classical period, the modern consumption theory, to the new development and modern consumption theory consumption theory of the west development process summary and review.In this paper, according to the time sequence of consumption theory is mainly divided into four periods, discussed in detail in the background, main contents, the representatives of its at the same time, transverse, longitudinal comparative analysis of different theories, in order to clear the status and influence of the theory. It will not only help to explore the consumption theory development as well as the influence factors of rules, also help deepen the understanding of consumer decision-making process, promote the consumption problem, especially the study of the theory of the consumption problem in our country.The first period is from15th Century to the1870s, mainly including the mercantilist consumption concept and consumption ideas of classical economics.The mercantilist discussion about consumption depends on the mercantilist view of wealth. They believe that consumer goods are part of the wealth, advocating thrift oppose extravagance and waste, restrictions on imports of luxury goods, to take trade protection policy, encourage trade surplus, and some scholars have suggested that the Levy of consumption tax. Mercantilist ideas of consumption is essentially a commitment to increase the national power consumption intervention of ideas, the starting point is to the accumulation of capital and the protection of national industry, sacrifice the interests of laborers in many ways. Although later classical economists widely criticized the mercantilist consumption ideas, they inherited most of its consumption ideas. During this period, Mandeville first discussed the problem of inadequate consumption, which was highly innovative awareness.Classical economists divided the productive consumption and life consumption, opposed extravagance and waste, advocated thrift in order to increase social capital, began to discuss with different tax policy adjustment of residents’consumption behavior and encouraged free trade to protect the interests of the consumers. During this period, the classical economist analyzed the residents’consumption factor, widely discussed the relationship between consumption and production. Because the society was in the early stage of capitalism, the classical economists improved the degree of attention to the consumer obviously, but emphasized the decisive role in production.The second period is from the1870s to the1930s, including the consumption idea of marginal revolution and new classical economics and major mainstream consumption thought during this period, Marx’s thought and whosoever bollen consumption ideas.Marginal utility school emerged in the marginal revolution of the1870s, in the dual role of the economic environment and the academic atmosphere, the research focus turned from production to consumption, the marginal increment analysis and other mathematical method was applied to the analysis of consumer behavior. Marginal utility school puts forward the theory of marginal utility value, which constitutes the core content of microeconomic theory of consumer, its research methods greatly influenced the later development of consumption theory, has an important status in theory.Marshall’s consumption ideas is the first part of its economic theory, he emphasized the primacy of consumption in economics, re-elaborated the law of diminishing marginal utility and summed up the law of demand as the main content of neoclassical economics consumer theory, put forward a series of important concepts such as the elasticity of demand, consumer surplus, to maintain the efficiency of the necessities, which become the research on consumer behavior and the important foundation for the establishment of welfare economics.In modern consumption concept part, it also introduces the consumption thought of Marx, Thorstein Veblen, as a supplement to the mainstream consumer thought. The third period is from the1930s to the1970s, introduced the absolute income hypothesis Keynes and Duesenberry’s relative income hypothesis and Modigliani’s life cycle hypothesis and Friedman’s permanent income hypothesis.In the1930s, Keynes put forward the hypothesis of absolute income, and the modern consumption theory was established. He creatively introduced variable "income", linked the consumption and income for the first time from the perspective of macro economics, from then on, the relationship between the two has been occupying the core theories of consumption.But absolute income hypothesis based on the subjective judgment of consumer psychology, lack of microcosmic foundation, and limited to the short-term analysis. The most important thing is its lack of experience. The status of absolute income hypothesis theory suffered questioned after the wrong expectation to the post-war America’s economy and the challege of "kuznets paradox".And the question of the absolute income hypothesis promotes the economists find reasonable explanation, Duesenberry put forward the relative income hypothesis, which believes consumption depends on consumers’relative income, and pointed out that the consumption has a "demonstration effect" and "ratchet effect". Relative income hypothesis assumes that consumers from the analysis of consumer behavior, expands the research ideas greatly, but still cannot give a strict interpretation of the "Kuznets paradox".Modigliani et al proposed life cycle hypothesis. From the traditional consumer choice theory, they investigated the relationship between income and consumption in the consumer of the entire life cycle. They fixed and developed the Keynes’s absolute income hypothesis on important issues such as consumption, the consumption function and the basis of consumption function.In contrast, the micro foundation of the life cycle hypothesis is more firmly, and it has certain explanation ability in long-term consumption of stability and short-term consumption fluctuationIn the process of analysis, life cycle hypothesis attach importance to the research of the motives of savings, and the focal point of consumption theoretical research have profound changes:from the belief in absolute income hypothesis of consumption supremacy to the relationship between savings and economic growth.Friedman argued that the consumer decision-making is not based on current temporary income but on the permanent income, and put forward the permanent income hypothesis. Based on the division between permanent income and temporary income, permanent and temporary consumption, friedman put forward:temporarily has no fixed proportion relationship between income and consumption temporarily, but there is a proportional relation between permanent income and durable consumption, ratio depends on the interest rate, the percentage of wealth and income, and accumulate wealth preference and so on. Essentially, permanent income hypothesis is still the exploration of the relationship between consumption and income, and it reconciles the contradiction the between long-term consumption function and short-term consumption function in some degree.In view of the life-cycle hypothesis and the permanent income hypothesis has great similarity, scholars generally combined analysis, called the life cycle-permanent income hypothesis. The hypothesis pointed out that the main factor affect the consumption is the wealth and permanent income, which determines the consumption together. The hypothesis under the condition of uncertainty, from across the limitation to use maximum principle, revealed the consumer’s smooth consumption motives in the life cycle. In a longer period of time, life cycle and permanent income hypothesis as a deterministic equilibrium model, is the main research analysis framework of consumption and savings of the residents.The fourth time is since the1970s, introduced the Hall’s random walk hypothesis, theory of precautionary savings and liquidity constraints theory, and contemporary major non-mainstream consumer theory:the theory of consumer behavior and Post Keynesian consumption theory.By the mid of1970s, the western capitalist countries faced the "stagflation" dilemma, the prediction accuracy of LC-PIH which is on the basis of the mechanism of adaptive expectations decreases obviously, the assumptions "certainty" also faced many difficulties in reality.During this period, uncertainty analysis was specifically introduced in the theory of consumer research, the expansion and development of LC-PIH based on uncertainty analysis replaced the original with certainty as the research background of the consumer behavior theory, consumption theory started a new stage of development.Robert Hall introduced the rational expectations theory into permanent income hypothesis and life cycle hypothesis, and proposed random walk hypothesis. The random walk hypothesis pointed out that the conditional expectation of the future marginal utility is only the function of current consumption level, and other factors, such as current and past income and wealth are no relationship.It is said that except a trend, the marginal utility to obey random walk. The consumption function of the hall is based on the on the meaning of individual objective function and constraints, push the performance by introducing the rational expectations from certainty to uncertainty conditions, he will consumption theory, and make the consumer behavior theory has the modern form.After the mid of1980s,"excessive sensitivity" and "excess smoothness" challenged the theory of random walk, consumption theory is based on the precautionary savings theory hypothesis and the liquidity constraint theory hypothesis as representatives and cause a large number of relevant empirical experience.In addition, philosophy, culture, habits of behavioral economics is strong enter the line of sight.Precautionary savings is savings by risk aversion consumers in the prevention of future uncertainty level as the sharp decline of consumption. According to the theory of precautionary saving, compared with the deterministic case, the residents will increase savings in the future income uncertainty circumstances generally.Leland put forward that the precautionary motive can be depicted by the three order derivative to the consumer utility function. Zeldes studied how random fluctuations of income uncertainty effect on consumption of optimizing behavior, and affirmed its effect on consumer decision making ability.Caroll thought that consumers who possess two characteristics, patience and caution, tend to maintain a fixed savings wealth ratio.Liquidity is also called credit constraints, is refers to the limits when the residents loans for consumption from financial institutions and non-financial institutions and individuals.As long as consumers are liquidity constraints, the current consumption are reduced, the consumption path is not smooth.The precautionary savings theory and the liquidity constraint theory in some extent explain the "excess sensitivity" and "excess smoothness", but because of the model are dependent on some temporary condition and the choice of the alternative variables in the empirical test, adopting different ways will get different conclusion of the empirical test.Based on absorbing and drawing lessons from the achievements of different disciplines on the rest, Post Keynesian economics initially established a reflect the economic ideas of the new consumption theory, it fills the school and other non mainstream economics to send a blank in the past academic research, to promote the the deepening and development of consumption theory research, is helpful to further promote the formation of diversified development of modern economics situation.Consumer behavior theory mainly studies how consumers cognitive and account its wealth, how consumer make intertemporal choice and time preference rate problem.Research on consumer psychology and preference is an important development direction of consumption theory, behavioral consumption theory as a supplement to the mainstream consumer theory, the new perspective and means of research will promote the development and improvement of the theory of consumption.After a review of the evolution process of western consumption theory, we can clearly recognize the important position of the consumption theory in economics. Consumption theory is the key to the organic combination of macroeconomic and microeconomic. Consumption theory promotes the development of the combination of macroeconomic and microeconomic.In the development of western consumption theory of evolution process, has the following characteristics:the study of early modern consumption theory consumption theory and the different emphasis, early consumption theory focuses on the relationship between supply and demand, the modern consumption theory focuses on the consumption and savings; comprehensive trend consumption theory evolution process of mathematical development trend and multi discipline; macro consumption theory and micro consumption theory shows fusion trend.
|
PDF Full Text Request