International Series on Consumer Science – serie

U. S. Social Welfare Reform examines pivotal changes in social welfare for low-income families in the United States between 1981, the advent of the Reagan administration, and 2008, the end of the G.W. Bush administration. It focuses on the change from the Federal-state open entitlement Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program to the time-limited state run Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program which Congress authorized with passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996. The book also focuses on the development of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program, enacted in 1975 against the backdrop of failed efforts to nationalize AFDC which aimed at providing a basic income to all poor families, but which blossomed with continued bipartisan support in the 1990s. This book also explores alternative strategies to assist low-income families, including job training programs. It present original research on the educational and economic well-being of youth from low-income families who participated in government sponsored job training programs in the late 1970 and early 1980s.The book seeks a middle ground between general and technical social policy texts. It provides more depth than is available in the more general social policy texts. Further, while the more comprehensive texts often rely on government documents and reports relying on Current Population Survey data to profile program use, this book relies on panel data from the National Longitudinal Surveys and presents original research that builds upon prior related research and scholarship about the role of the federal government in social welfare provisioning in general and AFDC/TANF and EITC use in particular and on school-to-work transition programs. It presents related technical material in a narrative style better suited to professionals and policy makers who may lack expertise in quantitative analysis.

Significant recent changes in the structure and composition of households make the study of the economic relationships within the household of particular interest for academics and policy-makers. In this context, Household Economic Behaviors, through its focus on theoretical and empirical chapters on a range of economic behaviors within the household, provides a new and timely viewpoint. Following the Introduction and one or two surveys which give a general background, the volume includes theoretical and empirical perspectives on allocation of available time within the household, monetary and non-monetary transfers between household members, and intra-household bargaining.

Mobile Chinese Entrepreneurs draws extensively on the narratives of sixteen small-to-medium business owners, born on the mainland, who have immigrated to Hong Kong and returned to their ancestral hometowns in China to establish their enterprises. For these executives, business and social life alike are marked by constant interplay of identities, such as individual identity/group membership and ancestral/immigrant identity. Yet as often as this juggling of multiple “selves” can be beneficial in the economic sphere, it can also lead to feelings of rootlessness and alienation. Writing with rare sensitivity, the two authors synthesize insights from economic sociology, psychology, ethnic relations, emotions, and social networks, creating an exploration of social capital and social identity comparable to similar groups of businessmen and –women in other parts of the world.

Rural Families and Work focuses on the findings of the Rural Families Speak research study and the theoretical frameworks that are utilized to examine the context of rural low-income families’ employment. This volume provides a solid foundation for understanding rural employment problems and issues. Family ecological theory is the central framework with a discussion of theories that contribute to the opportunities for the contextual research, including family economic stress theory, human capital, human capability, and some selected policy frameworks. Employment is addressed through review of policy issues, community contexts, family and social support, and available resources. Throughout the volume future research directions and applications are highlighted.

There has been an increasing recognition that financial knowledge (i.e., literacy) is lacking across the population. Moreover, there is recognition that this lack of knowledge poses real problems as credit, mortgages, health insurance, retirement benefits, and savings and investment decisions become increasingly complex. Financial Decisions Across the Lifespan brings together the work of scholars from various disciplines (family and consumer sciences, economics, law, finance, sociology, and public policy) to provide a broad range of perspectives on financial knowledge, financial decisions, and policies. For consistency across the volume each chapter follows a similar format: (1) what individuals know or need to know (2) how what they know or need to know affects financial decisions and outcomes (3) ways in which policies or programs or financial innovations can enhance their knowledge, or decisions, or outcomes. Contributors will provide both new and existing research to create a valuable picture of the state of financial literacy and how it can be improved.

Technology and Household Consumption is a comprehensive text that provides insights into technology’s impact on consumer behavior and the household environment. Consumption and consumer behavior has become a very important subject of study that is now covered in many disciplines including family economics, culture studies, and feminist/women studies. In the first section, this book provides a historical perspective on how consumer behaviors have changed because of technology and how technology itself has changed. Data on ownership and expenditures is detailed in describing the penetration of technology in the household and changes over time. In the examination of demographics and social changes, an emphasis is placed on women and children. As it is important to understand the entry paths and factors that influence them, the book also introduces a research framework to understanding the adoption and utilization of household technologies. In the second section, the book examines specific household technologies and consumption experiences including shopping choices and behaviors, entertainment outlets and availability, communications technologies, and working at home. The book concludes with a section on the relationships between marketers and consumers.

U. S. Social Welfare Reform examines pivotal changes in social welfare for low-income families in the United States between 1981, the advent of the Reagan administration, and 2008, the end of the G.W. Bush administration. It focuses on the change from the Federal-state open entitlement Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program to the time-limited state run Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program which Congress authorized with passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996. The book also focuses on the development of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program, enacted in 1975 against the backdrop of failed efforts to nationalize AFDC which aimed at providing a basic income to all poor families, but which blossomed with continued bipartisan support in the 1990s. This book also explores alternative strategies to assist low-income families, including job training programs. It present original research on the educational and economic well-being of youth from low-income families who participated in government sponsored job training programs in the late 1970 and early 1980s.The book seeks a middle ground between general and technical social policy texts. It provides more depth than is available in the more general social policy texts. Further, while the more comprehensive texts often rely on government documents and reports relying on Current Population Survey data to profile program use, this book relies on panel data from the National Longitudinal Surveys and presents original research that builds upon prior related research and scholarship about the role of the federal government in social welfare provisioning in general and AFDC/TANF and EITC use in particular and on school-to-work transition programs. It presents related technical material in a narrative style better suited to professionals and policy makers who may lack expertise in quantitative analysis.

Rural Families and Work focuses on the findings of the Rural Families Speak research study and the theoretical frameworks that are utilized to examine the context of rural low-income families’ employment. This volume provides a solid foundation for understanding rural employment problems and issues. Family ecological theory is the central framework with a discussion of theories that contribute to the opportunities for the contextual research, including family economic stress theory, human capital, human capability, and some selected policy frameworks. Employment is addressed through review of policy issues, community contexts, family and social support, and available resources. Throughout the volume future research directions and applications are highlighted.

Significant recent changes in the structure and composition of households make the study of the economic relationships within the household of particular interest for academics and policy-makers. In this context, Household Economic Behaviors, through its focus on theoretical and empirical chapters on a range of economic behaviors within the household, provides a new and timely viewpoint. Following the Introduction and one or two surveys which give a general background, the volume includes theoretical and empirical perspectives on allocation of available time within the household, monetary and non-monetary transfers between household members, and intra-household bargaining.

Mobile Chinese Entrepreneurs draws extensively on the narratives of sixteen small-to-medium business owners, born on the mainland, who have immigrated to Hong Kong and returned to their ancestral hometowns in China to establish their enterprises. For these executives, business and social life alike are marked by constant interplay of identities, such as individual identity/group membership and ancestral/immigrant identity. Yet as often as this juggling of multiple “selves” can be beneficial in the economic sphere, it can also lead to feelings of rootlessness and alienation. Writing with rare sensitivity, the two authors synthesize insights from economic sociology, psychology, ethnic relations, emotions, and social networks, creating an exploration of social capital and social identity comparable to similar groups of businessmen and –women in other parts of the world.

There has been an increasing recognition that financial knowledge (i.e., literacy) is lacking across the population. Moreover, there is recognition that this lack of knowledge poses real problems as credit, mortgages, health insurance, retirement benefits, and savings and investment decisions become increasingly complex. Financial Decisions Across the Lifespan brings together the work of scholars from various disciplines (family and consumer sciences, economics, law, finance, sociology, and public policy) to provide a broad range of perspectives on financial knowledge, financial decisions, and policies. For consistency across the volume each chapter follows a similar format: (1) what individuals know or need to know (2) how what they know or need to know affects financial decisions and outcomes (3) ways in which policies or programs or financial innovations can enhance their knowledge, or decisions, or outcomes. Contributors will provide both new and existing research to create a valuable picture of the state of financial literacy and how it can be improved.

Technology and Household Consumption is a comprehensive text that provides insights into technology’s impact on consumer behavior and the household environment. Consumption and consumer behavior has become a very important subject of study that is now covered in many disciplines including family economics, culture studies, and feminist/women studies. In the first section, this book provides a historical perspective on how consumer behaviors have changed because of technology and how technology itself has changed. Data on ownership and expenditures is detailed in describing the penetration of technology in the household and changes over time. In the examination of demographics and social changes, an emphasis is placed on women and children. As it is important to understand the entry paths and factors that influence them, the book also introduces a research framework to understanding the adoption and utilization of household technologies. In the second section, the book examines specific household technologies and consumption experiences including shopping choices and behaviors, entertainment outlets and availability, communications technologies, and working at home. The book concludes with a section on the relationships between marketers and consumers.

Fashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors presents eye-opening theory, literature review and original research on the mutual influence of branding strategies and consumer response. Contributors use multiple methods to analyze consumers' psychosocial needs and the extent that their fulfillment goes beyond the usefulness or value of the items they purchase as well as the fashion industry's means of communicating brand identity and enhancing brand loyalty. Along the way, these studies raise important questions about consumer behaviors, consumer welfare, environmental ethics and the future of consumer research. Included in the coverage: A symbolic interactionist perspective on fashion brand personality and advertisement response.Optimizing fashion branding strategies in a fluctuating market.An analysis of fashion brand extensions by artificial neural networks.Domestic or foreign luxury brands? A comparison of status-  and non-status- seeking teenagers.The impact of consumers’ need for uniqueness on purchase perception.How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand equity and the marketing mix. A breakthrough volume on the complexities of how and why we buy, Fashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors will captivate researchers and practitioners in the fields of consumer psychology, marketing and economics.

This timely text overviews theories, concepts, and contexts relating to the emerging field of behavioral economics. Research theories and data gathered across psychology, sociology, marketing, finance, and other relevant disciplines are synthesized to identify and elaborate on the defining aspects of consumer economic wellbeing. Against a background of consumer rights and responsibilities, the book discusses consumer phenomena of earning, spending, saving, and borrowing and their contributions to improving (and in some cases to worsening) economic wellness. In addition, the author presents effective ways consumers can be encouraged to navigate key economic environments such as the media, advertising, and the internet, and to change negative financial behaviors.Among the featured topics:Historical perspective on consumer economic wellbeing.Consumer financial capability and economic wellbeing.The role of government in promoting consumer economic wellbeing.Corporate social responsibility.Theories of online shopping and e-banking.Desirable and undesirable consumption behavior.Consumer Economic Wellbeing clarifies issues and provides insights for researchers in the fields of consumer psychology and economics, psychologists and mental health professionals, and policy analysts. It is also useful as a text for college courses in related subjects.

Fashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors presents eye-opening theory, literature review and original research on the mutual influence of branding strategies and consumer response. Contributors use multiple methods to analyze consumers' psychosocial needs and the extent that their fulfillment goes beyond the usefulness or value of the items they purchase as well as the fashion industry's means of communicating brand identity and enhancing brand loyalty. Along the way, these studies raise important questions about consumer behaviors, consumer welfare, environmental ethics and the future of consumer research. Included in the coverage: A symbolic interactionist perspective on fashion brand personality and advertisement response.Optimizing fashion branding strategies in a fluctuating market.An analysis of fashion brand extensions by artificial neural networks.Domestic or foreign luxury brands? A comparison of status-  and non-status- seeking teenagers.The impact of consumers’ need for uniqueness on purchase perception.How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand equity and the marketing mix. A breakthrough volume on the complexities of how and why we buy, Fashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors will captivate researchers and practitioners in the fields of consumer psychology, marketing and economics.

This timely text overviews theories, concepts, and contexts relating to the emerging field of behavioral economics. Research theories and data gathered across psychology, sociology, marketing, finance, and other relevant disciplines are synthesized to identify and elaborate on the defining aspects of consumer economic wellbeing. Against a background of consumer rights and responsibilities, the book discusses consumer phenomena of earning, spending, saving, and borrowing and their contributions to improving (and in some cases to worsening) economic wellness. In addition, the author presents effective ways consumers can be encouraged to navigate key economic environments such as the media, advertising, and the internet, and to change negative financial behaviors.Among the featured topics:Historical perspective on consumer economic wellbeing.Consumer financial capability and economic wellbeing.The role of government in promoting consumer economic wellbeing.Corporate social responsibility.Theories of online shopping and e-banking.Desirable and undesirable consumption behavior.Consumer Economic Wellbeing clarifies issues and provides insights for researchers in the fields of consumer psychology and economics, psychologists and mental health professionals, and policy analysts. It is also useful as a text for college courses in related subjects.

​This fascinating collection analyzes the impact of Western consumer culture on local cultures and consumption in Southeast Europe and East Asia. Cultural, historical, economic and sociopolitical contexts are examined regarding buying behaviors, usage and customization practices and consumer activism, specifically in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania as cultures continue to evolve in the post-socialist era, and in China and Japan as a continuation of movements toward modernity and progress. Surprising and thought-provoking contrasts stand out as consumers balance the global with the local in terms of clothing, technology, luxury items, and food. All chapters feature a wealth of empirical and cross-cultural data, and the presentation is framed by Professor Mike Featherstone’s theoretical essay on the origins of consumer culture and the consequences of two hundred years of increasing consumption for the human condition and the future of the planet.Included in the coverage:“You are a socialist child like me”: Goods and Identity in BulgariaConsumer Culture from Socialist Yugoslavia to Post-Socialist Serbia: Movements and MomentsPreserves Exiting Socialism: Authenticity, Anti-Standardization, and Middle-Class Consumption in Post-Socialist RomaniaModernization and the Department Store in Early 20th-Century Japan: Modern Girl and New Consumer Culture LifestylesA Cultural Reading of Conspicuous Consumption in ChinaApproaching Consumer Culture broadens the cultural anthropology literature and will be welcomed by Western and Eastern scholars and researchers alike. Its depth and accessibility make it useful to university courses in cultural anthropology, cultural studies, and sociology.

This book stresses the psychological perspective in explaining financial behavior. Traditionally, financial behaviors such as saving, spending, and investing have been explained using demographic and economic factors such as income and product pricing. The consequence of this way of thinking is that financial institutions view their clients mostly from the perspective of their income. By taking a psychological approach, this book stresses the perspective of consumers confronted with a quickly changing financial world: the changing of financial offers and products (savings, investments, loans), the changing of payment methods (from cash to cheques, cards and mobile payments), the accessibility and temptation of goods, and the changing of insurance and pension systems.The Psychology of Financial Consumer Behavior provides insight into the thought processes of consumers in a variety of financial topics. Coverage includes perceptions of wealth, the pleasure or pain of spending, cashless transactions, saving and investing, loans, planning for the future, taxes, and financial education. The book holds appeal for researchers, professionals, and students in economics, psychology, economic psychology, marketing and consumer science, or anyone interested in financial behaviors.

This book brings together, in one source, a psychologically framed view of consumer well-being.  Featuring chapters authored by expert scholars in the field, and encompassing both research and theory, it provides a comprehensive framework for understanding this important area. Each chapter contains a review of theories and evidence, as well as future research directions and policy recommendations.  The intended audience for the book includes professionals in a range of areas, including academia, economics, business, media, and government.

This book brings together, in one source, a psychologically framed view of consumer well-being.  Featuring chapters authored by expert scholars in the field, and encompassing both research and theory, it provides a comprehensive framework for understanding this important area. Each chapter contains a review of theories and evidence, as well as future research directions and policy recommendations.  The intended audience for the book includes professionals in a range of areas, including academia, economics, business, media, and government.

This forward-looking volume examines the role of social influence--including social media--in creating and fostering sustainable consumer behavior. Using the concepts behind social influence theory as a launching point, it describes humans' need for social networks and identifies the core components of buying, such as consumer goals and the gathering of opinions. From here, chapters examine ways social influence can encourage and support sustainable consumption, from buying green products to recycling packaging materials to supporting environmentally responsible brands. Real-world examples, critical thinking questions, a breakdown of strategies for influencing behavior, and pertinent references give the book extra dimensions of value. Among the featured topics: Social influence: why it matters.Values, attitudes, opinions, goals, and motivation.What we buy and who we listen to: the science and art of consumption.Decision making and problem solving.Households: productivity and consumption.Sustainably managing resources in the built environment.Between its nuanced understanding of social connections and its up-to-date lens on technology, Social Influence and Sustainable Consumption is must reading for researchers in the fields of consumer psychology, consumer behavior, and consumer sustainability.