Trends in the analysis of consumer demand

Abstract

“The nearer an epoch is to us, the less we understand it: our own we understand least of all.” It is fitting to start with this disclaimer quoted from the monumental History of Economic Analysis by Schumpeter. Indeed, when discussing present developments, one has not the benefit of hindsight while it is also virtually impossible to obtain an overview over what all is going on in our economic discipline, even not in that relatively neat area of the theory of consumer demand. To evaluate possible trends is a task notoriously full of pitfalls and undoubtedly the present attempt will be no exception.

This text was prepared for oral presentation. For reasons of oratorical smoothness no references to sources have been made. An apology is due to all persons to whom this does not justice. Many persons active in demand analysis might find that their ideas and approaches are not adequately treated, for which I also apologize. The format of a lecture has confined me to a discussion of a limited choice of topics. The fact that some topics were included and others left out should not be interpreted as a reflection of their relative importance.