Kimberly J. Morgan and Andrea Louise Campbell
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199730346
- eISBN:
- 9780199918447
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199730346.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
Chapter eight explores the consequences of delegated governance and the market model for Medicare beneficiaries specifically and democratic citizens more generally. Although the MMA assumed that ...
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Chapter eight explores the consequences of delegated governance and the market model for Medicare beneficiaries specifically and democratic citizens more generally. Although the MMA assumed that seniors possessed the ability to choose among large numbers of competing alternatives, exit bad plans, and contest inadequate benefits, many Part D enrollees make poor initial choices and then fail to switch plans, thereby increasing costs for themselves and undermining the market logic behind the reform. And although seniors report high rates of problems with their prescription drug plans and low levels of satisfaction compared to those covered by other sources like the Veterans Administration or former employers, they profess favorability toward the prescription drug reform. The chapter concludes that recipients have responded to problems with their plans with loyalty (or passivity) rather than with exit or voice. More broadly, the chapter analyzes mechanisms of accountability and assesses the degree to which individuals can have their voices heard and when they operate as consumers facing for-profit businesses as opposed to citizens confronting public bureaucracies and elected officials.Less
Chapter eight explores the consequences of delegated governance and the market model for Medicare beneficiaries specifically and democratic citizens more generally. Although the MMA assumed that seniors possessed the ability to choose among large numbers of competing alternatives, exit bad plans, and contest inadequate benefits, many Part D enrollees make poor initial choices and then fail to switch plans, thereby increasing costs for themselves and undermining the market logic behind the reform. And although seniors report high rates of problems with their prescription drug plans and low levels of satisfaction compared to those covered by other sources like the Veterans Administration or former employers, they profess favorability toward the prescription drug reform. The chapter concludes that recipients have responded to problems with their plans with loyalty (or passivity) rather than with exit or voice. More broadly, the chapter analyzes mechanisms of accountability and assesses the degree to which individuals can have their voices heard and when they operate as consumers facing for-profit businesses as opposed to citizens confronting public bureaucracies and elected officials.
John P. Burkett
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195189629
- eISBN:
- 9780199850778
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195189629.003.0009
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
This chapter discusses microeconomic theories of consumer choice and demand. It explains that a consumer's preferences can be represented by a utility function or by a preference map and that ...
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This chapter discusses microeconomic theories of consumer choice and demand. It explains that a consumer's preferences can be represented by a utility function or by a preference map and that preference ordering is characterized by completeness, transitivity, nonsatiation, continuity, and a diminishing marginal rate of substitution. On the other hand, budget constraint consists of all the consumption bundles that cost precisely as much as he or she can spend and it can be represented as an equation that is linear in quantities. This chapter also discusses the derivation of an individual demand from a budget constraint and an indifference map. Several relevant computational exercises and their solutions are provided.Less
This chapter discusses microeconomic theories of consumer choice and demand. It explains that a consumer's preferences can be represented by a utility function or by a preference map and that preference ordering is characterized by completeness, transitivity, nonsatiation, continuity, and a diminishing marginal rate of substitution. On the other hand, budget constraint consists of all the consumption bundles that cost precisely as much as he or she can spend and it can be represented as an equation that is linear in quantities. This chapter also discusses the derivation of an individual demand from a budget constraint and an indifference map. Several relevant computational exercises and their solutions are provided.
Richard Simmons and Martin Powell
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847421814
- eISBN:
- 9781447303725
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847421814.003.0014
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
A key focus of this book was to think about the ‘differentiated consumer’ in public services, and what it meant from different perspectives in relation to public services and consumption. This ...
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A key focus of this book was to think about the ‘differentiated consumer’ in public services, and what it meant from different perspectives in relation to public services and consumption. This chapter attempts to make sense of all this by returning to some of the themes set out in the Introduction. First, it recognises that many different faces and mechanisms of consumerism exist. This helps people to identify who it is that presents themselves when they use public services and what their expectations might be, as well as what responses they might face from public service providers. Second, the chapter acknowledges the role of different public service contexts, and that what works in terms of consumerism and choice for some people in some settings may not be universal. Third, it acknowledges the role of values in different public service contexts.Less
A key focus of this book was to think about the ‘differentiated consumer’ in public services, and what it meant from different perspectives in relation to public services and consumption. This chapter attempts to make sense of all this by returning to some of the themes set out in the Introduction. First, it recognises that many different faces and mechanisms of consumerism exist. This helps people to identify who it is that presents themselves when they use public services and what their expectations might be, as well as what responses they might face from public service providers. Second, the chapter acknowledges the role of different public service contexts, and that what works in terms of consumerism and choice for some people in some settings may not be universal. Third, it acknowledges the role of values in different public service contexts.
Kimberly J. Morgan and Andrea Louise Campbell
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199730346
- eISBN:
- 9780199918447
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199730346.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter examines the ideational and political movements advocating market-based forms of delegated governance since the 1970s. In part, the embrace of marketizing reforms reflected the ...
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This chapter examines the ideational and political movements advocating market-based forms of delegated governance since the 1970s. In part, the embrace of marketizing reforms reflected the refinement of ideas about the inefficient and oppressive nature of government as juxtaposed with the dynamism, efficiency, and liberating qualities of markets and individual choice. Some conservative and centrist policy-makers also believed the American state was inherently weak—a self-fulfilling prophecy given their longstanding resistance to building effective bureaucratic capacity at the federal level. In a context of rising health care costs, some policy-makers sought ways to make private insurers do the tough work of disciplining health care interests, delegating to these non-governmental authorities responsibility for meting out pain to medical providers. We trace this impulse through the push for allowing HMOs to administer Medicare benefits; the gathering enthusiasm for managed competition and the Clinton health care reform effort of 1993/94; proposals that emerged in the 1990s for complete Medicare voucherization; and the movement for Health Savings Accounts.Less
This chapter examines the ideational and political movements advocating market-based forms of delegated governance since the 1970s. In part, the embrace of marketizing reforms reflected the refinement of ideas about the inefficient and oppressive nature of government as juxtaposed with the dynamism, efficiency, and liberating qualities of markets and individual choice. Some conservative and centrist policy-makers also believed the American state was inherently weak—a self-fulfilling prophecy given their longstanding resistance to building effective bureaucratic capacity at the federal level. In a context of rising health care costs, some policy-makers sought ways to make private insurers do the tough work of disciplining health care interests, delegating to these non-governmental authorities responsibility for meting out pain to medical providers. We trace this impulse through the push for allowing HMOs to administer Medicare benefits; the gathering enthusiasm for managed competition and the Clinton health care reform effort of 1993/94; proposals that emerged in the 1990s for complete Medicare voucherization; and the movement for Health Savings Accounts.
Mark Kelman
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199755608
- eISBN:
- 9780199895236
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199755608.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law
The chapter considers H&B and F&F attitudes towards market failure and information disclosure, highlighting first that policymakers influenced by the H&B school have worried about internal as well as ...
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The chapter considers H&B and F&F attitudes towards market failure and information disclosure, highlighting first that policymakers influenced by the H&B school have worried about internal as well as external impediments to making self-regarding choices and the misevaluation of the performance of members of “outsider” groups. It further emphasizes the H&B commitment to programs best described as “libertarian paternalist” or “asymmetrically paternalist,” intended to interfere with a subject’s immediate “liberty” but not her autonomy and also meant to permit subjects who have atypical tastes to manifest those tastes in ways that mandates would not. Policymakers influenced by F&F theory have emphasized, to a much greater extent, that typical disclosure policies are misguided: while it is desirable to improve the form in which information is presented, increasing the amount of information that consumers receive is generally counterproductive because information might “crowd out” the search for a single best lexical cue. The chapter questions the viability of each approach, arguing that neither truly works absent a separate theory of what substantive choices are ideal.Less
The chapter considers H&B and F&F attitudes towards market failure and information disclosure, highlighting first that policymakers influenced by the H&B school have worried about internal as well as external impediments to making self-regarding choices and the misevaluation of the performance of members of “outsider” groups. It further emphasizes the H&B commitment to programs best described as “libertarian paternalist” or “asymmetrically paternalist,” intended to interfere with a subject’s immediate “liberty” but not her autonomy and also meant to permit subjects who have atypical tastes to manifest those tastes in ways that mandates would not. Policymakers influenced by F&F theory have emphasized, to a much greater extent, that typical disclosure policies are misguided: while it is desirable to improve the form in which information is presented, increasing the amount of information that consumers receive is generally counterproductive because information might “crowd out” the search for a single best lexical cue. The chapter questions the viability of each approach, arguing that neither truly works absent a separate theory of what substantive choices are ideal.
Nicholas Barr
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199246595
- eISBN:
- 9780191595936
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199246599.003.0011
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
Information problems constrain the usefulness of consumer choice about school education, suggesting that the state will continue to provide the bulk of finance for school education and, separately, ...
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Information problems constrain the usefulness of consumer choice about school education, suggesting that the state will continue to provide the bulk of finance for school education and, separately, will continue to be the major provider. In contrast, consumer choice is useful for tertiary education, where consumers are better informed than central planners. This argument is strengthened by the growing diversity of post‐compulsory education and training. These arguments underpin the case for market forces in higher education discussed in detail in Ch. 13. Imperfect information is also a problem in capital markets. Conventional loans (for example, to buy a house), when applied to investment in human capital, present borrowers and, for different reasons, lenders with significant risk and uncertainty.Less
Information problems constrain the usefulness of consumer choice about school education, suggesting that the state will continue to provide the bulk of finance for school education and, separately, will continue to be the major provider. In contrast, consumer choice is useful for tertiary education, where consumers are better informed than central planners. This argument is strengthened by the growing diversity of post‐compulsory education and training. These arguments underpin the case for market forces in higher education discussed in detail in Ch. 13. Imperfect information is also a problem in capital markets. Conventional loans (for example, to buy a house), when applied to investment in human capital, present borrowers and, for different reasons, lenders with significant risk and uncertainty.
Daniel Callahan
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199931378
- eISBN:
- 9780199980598
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199931378.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Consumer-directed health care is one of the basic ideas that emerged in recent years as a way of bringing greater efficiency and cost control into health care. Its principal aims are to give patients ...
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Consumer-directed health care is one of the basic ideas that emerged in recent years as a way of bringing greater efficiency and cost control into health care. Its principal aims are to give patients greater control over their care, economically and medically, and to improve competition among providers to increase the range of patient control. Its roots are American, bespeaking a cultural suspicion of government, a worry about rising costs, and an appeal to the popularity of choice in almost all matters, now including health care. Consumer-directed health care also bespeaks the ideology of market ideology, drawing on market concepts in economics and a push by American conservatives (particularly President George W. Bush) to privatize as much of American health care as possible. It draws particularly on the business community as a source of ideas and inspiration, assuming that if choice and competition work well in the commercial sector, it will work equally well in health care. That is a mistaken belief.Less
Consumer-directed health care is one of the basic ideas that emerged in recent years as a way of bringing greater efficiency and cost control into health care. Its principal aims are to give patients greater control over their care, economically and medically, and to improve competition among providers to increase the range of patient control. Its roots are American, bespeaking a cultural suspicion of government, a worry about rising costs, and an appeal to the popularity of choice in almost all matters, now including health care. Consumer-directed health care also bespeaks the ideology of market ideology, drawing on market concepts in economics and a push by American conservatives (particularly President George W. Bush) to privatize as much of American health care as possible. It draws particularly on the business community as a source of ideas and inspiration, assuming that if choice and competition work well in the commercial sector, it will work equally well in health care. That is a mistaken belief.
Michio Morishima
- Published in print:
- 1969
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198281641
- eISBN:
- 9780191596667
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198281641.003.0011
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Earlier chapters in the book have: introduced consumer's choice into the conventional framework of economic growth originated by J. von Neumann, and assumed that consumers are classified into two ...
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Earlier chapters in the book have: introduced consumer's choice into the conventional framework of economic growth originated by J. von Neumann, and assumed that consumers are classified into two broad groups of persons—the worker and the capitalist (Ch. 6 ); observed that a balanced growth equilibrium obtained when only the worker consumes and only the capitalist saves is distinguished as the ‘best’ one from all other possible states of balanced growth and is, therefore, referred to as the Golden Equilibrium (Ch. 10); and concentrated on a particular economy where the capitalist is thrifty enough to carry out no consumption of goods at all while the worker is well paid so that he/she can buy goods in the Golden Equilibrium amounts, thus enabling the establishment of convergence to the Turnpike (Ch. 10). The following question is then naturally asked: Is the Golden Equilibrium still stable when the assumption of rigid consumption is replaced by the more realistic one that the worker's demand for consumption goods depends on prices and the wage income? In association with the assumption of rigid consumption, Ch. 10 made another powerful assumption that there is no shortage at all in the supply of labour; an economy was considered where the labour force grows at a constant rate, which is exogenously determined, and it was found that a state of balanced growth is compatible with such a flexible demand schedule. Therefore, it is suspected that the flexible demand for consumption goods is an additional cause of the cyclic behaviour of the Hicks–Malinvaud competitive equilibrium path and the DOSSO‐efficient growth path. The different sections of this chapter look at the possibility that flexible demand for consumption goods may cause cycles, the possibility of a Hicks–Malinvaud path in this case (and a numerical example), the DOSSO efficiency in the case of flexible consumption, and a DOSSO zigzag.Less
Earlier chapters in the book have: introduced consumer's choice into the conventional framework of economic growth originated by J. von Neumann, and assumed that consumers are classified into two broad groups of persons—the worker and the capitalist (Ch. 6 ); observed that a balanced growth equilibrium obtained when only the worker consumes and only the capitalist saves is distinguished as the ‘best’ one from all other possible states of balanced growth and is, therefore, referred to as the Golden Equilibrium (Ch. 10); and concentrated on a particular economy where the capitalist is thrifty enough to carry out no consumption of goods at all while the worker is well paid so that he/she can buy goods in the Golden Equilibrium amounts, thus enabling the establishment of convergence to the Turnpike (Ch. 10). The following question is then naturally asked: Is the Golden Equilibrium still stable when the assumption of rigid consumption is replaced by the more realistic one that the worker's demand for consumption goods depends on prices and the wage income? In association with the assumption of rigid consumption, Ch. 10 made another powerful assumption that there is no shortage at all in the supply of labour; an economy was considered where the labour force grows at a constant rate, which is exogenously determined, and it was found that a state of balanced growth is compatible with such a flexible demand schedule. Therefore, it is suspected that the flexible demand for consumption goods is an additional cause of the cyclic behaviour of the Hicks–Malinvaud competitive equilibrium path and the DOSSO‐efficient growth path. The different sections of this chapter look at the possibility that flexible demand for consumption goods may cause cycles, the possibility of a Hicks–Malinvaud path in this case (and a numerical example), the DOSSO efficiency in the case of flexible consumption, and a DOSSO zigzag.
John P. Burkett
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195189629
- eISBN:
- 9780199850778
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195189629.003.0011
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
This chapter discusses microeconomics theories of reference-dependent consumer preferences and loss aversion. It provides evidence that under some circumstances preferences depend on a reference and ...
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This chapter discusses microeconomics theories of reference-dependent consumer preferences and loss aversion. It provides evidence that under some circumstances preferences depend on a reference and explains that when the reference point is the current endowment, choice exhibits a status quo bias. It explains that when preferences are reference-dependent, changes in budget constraints can induce changes in preferences and that the Pareto set retains its interpretation as an equilibrium locus but loses its status as a set of optimal allocations.Less
This chapter discusses microeconomics theories of reference-dependent consumer preferences and loss aversion. It provides evidence that under some circumstances preferences depend on a reference and explains that when the reference point is the current endowment, choice exhibits a status quo bias. It explains that when preferences are reference-dependent, changes in budget constraints can induce changes in preferences and that the Pareto set retains its interpretation as an equilibrium locus but loses its status as a set of optimal allocations.
Kari Karppinen
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780823245123
- eISBN:
- 9780823268979
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823245123.001.0001
- Subject:
- Information Science, Communications
In this book, the author argues that media pluralism needs to be rescued from its depoliticized uses and re-imagined more broadly as a normative value that refers to the distribution of communicative ...
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In this book, the author argues that media pluralism needs to be rescued from its depoliticized uses and re-imagined more broadly as a normative value that refers to the distribution of communicative power in the public sphere. It notes that access to a broad range of different political views and cultural expressions is often regarded as a self-evident value in both theoretical and political debates on media and democracy. While this pluralism is commonly accepted as a guiding principle of media policy, the book argues that opinions on the meaning and nature of media pluralism vary widely, and that definitions of it can easily be adjusted to suit different political purposes. It contends that the notions of media pluralism and diversity have been reduced to empty catchphrases or that they have been conflated with consumer choice and market competition. This has left key questions about social and political values, democracy and citizenship unexamined. The book argues that, instead of something that is simply measured through the number of media outlets available, media pluralism should be understood in terms of its ability to challenge inequalities and create a more democratic public sphere.Less
In this book, the author argues that media pluralism needs to be rescued from its depoliticized uses and re-imagined more broadly as a normative value that refers to the distribution of communicative power in the public sphere. It notes that access to a broad range of different political views and cultural expressions is often regarded as a self-evident value in both theoretical and political debates on media and democracy. While this pluralism is commonly accepted as a guiding principle of media policy, the book argues that opinions on the meaning and nature of media pluralism vary widely, and that definitions of it can easily be adjusted to suit different political purposes. It contends that the notions of media pluralism and diversity have been reduced to empty catchphrases or that they have been conflated with consumer choice and market competition. This has left key questions about social and political values, democracy and citizenship unexamined. The book argues that, instead of something that is simply measured through the number of media outlets available, media pluralism should be understood in terms of its ability to challenge inequalities and create a more democratic public sphere.
Michio Morishima
- Published in print:
- 1969
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198281641
- eISBN:
- 9780191596667
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198281641.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
The neoclassical model so far examined in the book assumes, among other things: (a) that firms can be classified into two or several industries, each producing a single output; (b) that capital goods ...
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The neoclassical model so far examined in the book assumes, among other things: (a) that firms can be classified into two or several industries, each producing a single output; (b) that capital goods do not suffer wear and tear, or they depreciate by evaporation; (c) that the stock of capital goods can be transferred freely from one firm to another; and (d) that the neoclassical price mechanism works so as to establish automatically the full employment of capital stocks and the labour force; however, all these assumptions are unrealistic and crucially affect the model's capacity to analyse the capital structure of the economy. According to the neoclassical evaporation treatment of depreciation, capital goods that were produced several years ago and have been subject to wear and tear are considered to be physically equivalent to some smaller amounts of new capital goods of the same kind; this is a useful assumption, but an oversimplification of the age structure of the available endowments, and does not deal well with the mortality of the capital goods. In contrast, von Neumann suggested that used capital goods appearing simultaneously with products at the end of the production period could be treated as by‐products of the manufacturing process; this treatment of capital goods requires the discarding of assumptions (a) and (c). Another task assigned to the theory of capital is to find out when a capital good ceases to be used and is replaced by a new one; in growth theory, this problem is especially important, and the von Neumann device of regarding capital goods at different ages as different goods allows the endogenous determination of their economic lifetime simultaneously with other economic unknowns (in fact, capital goods die economically and become free goods when they become unprofitable). The different sections of the chapter look at technological aspects of the von Neumann revolution, his specification and symbolization of production processes, two interpretations of the original von Neumann model (genuine and bastard), the introduction of consumer choice, equilibrium within a period, the working of the system over time (the temporary equilibrium approach versus balanced growth approach), a ‘Pasinetti’ or ‘anti‐Pasinetti’ solution, and the generalized Leontief model (revisited).Less
The neoclassical model so far examined in the book assumes, among other things: (a) that firms can be classified into two or several industries, each producing a single output; (b) that capital goods do not suffer wear and tear, or they depreciate by evaporation; (c) that the stock of capital goods can be transferred freely from one firm to another; and (d) that the neoclassical price mechanism works so as to establish automatically the full employment of capital stocks and the labour force; however, all these assumptions are unrealistic and crucially affect the model's capacity to analyse the capital structure of the economy. According to the neoclassical evaporation treatment of depreciation, capital goods that were produced several years ago and have been subject to wear and tear are considered to be physically equivalent to some smaller amounts of new capital goods of the same kind; this is a useful assumption, but an oversimplification of the age structure of the available endowments, and does not deal well with the mortality of the capital goods. In contrast, von Neumann suggested that used capital goods appearing simultaneously with products at the end of the production period could be treated as by‐products of the manufacturing process; this treatment of capital goods requires the discarding of assumptions (a) and (c). Another task assigned to the theory of capital is to find out when a capital good ceases to be used and is replaced by a new one; in growth theory, this problem is especially important, and the von Neumann device of regarding capital goods at different ages as different goods allows the endogenous determination of their economic lifetime simultaneously with other economic unknowns (in fact, capital goods die economically and become free goods when they become unprofitable). The different sections of the chapter look at technological aspects of the von Neumann revolution, his specification and symbolization of production processes, two interpretations of the original von Neumann model (genuine and bastard), the introduction of consumer choice, equilibrium within a period, the working of the system over time (the temporary equilibrium approach versus balanced growth approach), a ‘Pasinetti’ or ‘anti‐Pasinetti’ solution, and the generalized Leontief model (revisited).
Noel Thompson
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199646012
- eISBN:
- 9780191778490
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199646012.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Political History
This chapter discusses how socialist writers responded to the growing political and economic significance of the consumer in a period which saw a dramatic improvement in living standards. Affluence ...
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This chapter discusses how socialist writers responded to the growing political and economic significance of the consumer in a period which saw a dramatic improvement in living standards. Affluence posed the problem of a capitalism that was delivering the goods and delivering them in ever increasing variety and at prices that made them widely accessible. For some this necessitated a more positive attitude to consumption and the consumer and an attempt to integrate them more positively into their envisioned socialisms. Others were more critical, viewing consumer affluence as making for social squalor, jeopardizing the pursuit of collective objectives, engendering social rivalry, encouraging a possessive individualism and threatening social solidarity. Discussion revolved around such issues as the rationality of consumers, the reality of choice and consumer sovereignty, the moral and social consequences of consumption, its liberating potentialities and the relative merits of private affluence and social expenditure.Less
This chapter discusses how socialist writers responded to the growing political and economic significance of the consumer in a period which saw a dramatic improvement in living standards. Affluence posed the problem of a capitalism that was delivering the goods and delivering them in ever increasing variety and at prices that made them widely accessible. For some this necessitated a more positive attitude to consumption and the consumer and an attempt to integrate them more positively into their envisioned socialisms. Others were more critical, viewing consumer affluence as making for social squalor, jeopardizing the pursuit of collective objectives, engendering social rivalry, encouraging a possessive individualism and threatening social solidarity. Discussion revolved around such issues as the rationality of consumers, the reality of choice and consumer sovereignty, the moral and social consequences of consumption, its liberating potentialities and the relative merits of private affluence and social expenditure.
Richard Simmons
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847421814
- eISBN:
- 9781447303725
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847421814.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
‘Choice’ and ‘voice’ have become watchwords of current policy and provision in public services. Evidence points to choice serving as an important incentive for promoting quality, efficiency, and ...
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‘Choice’ and ‘voice’ have become watchwords of current policy and provision in public services. Evidence points to choice serving as an important incentive for promoting quality, efficiency, and equity in public services, and in many cases more effectively than relying solely or largely upon alternative mechanisms such as ‘voice’. This chapter argues that both choice and voice have their merits, based on the need which users identify for ensuring that providers listen to what they have to say. While notions of choice invite images of public service users ‘shopping around’ for the best provider, the best appointment time, the best housing, and so on, there are different elements to people's relationships with the public services they use, which mean that it is ‘not like shopping’.Less
‘Choice’ and ‘voice’ have become watchwords of current policy and provision in public services. Evidence points to choice serving as an important incentive for promoting quality, efficiency, and equity in public services, and in many cases more effectively than relying solely or largely upon alternative mechanisms such as ‘voice’. This chapter argues that both choice and voice have their merits, based on the need which users identify for ensuring that providers listen to what they have to say. While notions of choice invite images of public service users ‘shopping around’ for the best provider, the best appointment time, the best housing, and so on, there are different elements to people's relationships with the public services they use, which mean that it is ‘not like shopping’.
Josephine Mcdonagh
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198112853
- eISBN:
- 9780191670862
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198112853.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century Literature and Romanticism
De Quincey, as he expressed in ‘Letters to a Young Man whose Education has been Neglected’, experiences a certain degree of discomfort when he enters a library. He felt misery upon realizing that he ...
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De Quincey, as he expressed in ‘Letters to a Young Man whose Education has been Neglected’, experiences a certain degree of discomfort when he enters a library. He felt misery upon realizing that he would not be able to read all of the books that the library contains as his life is finite, and he articulates this in terms of a mathematical sublime in which something with great magnitude is in contrast with itself. De Quincey concerned himself with the printing expansion and book circulations during the first part of the nineteenth century, since this allowed the wide spread of seditious material, and he found the printing industry to represent the various changes and industrialization that would soon shape society. As changes in social class and demography will be experienced, industrial production is found to be a problem of consumer choice. In this chapter, we analyse literary criticisms regarding market problems and how the consumers may be classified as the amateur or general reader, and the critic or professional reader.Less
De Quincey, as he expressed in ‘Letters to a Young Man whose Education has been Neglected’, experiences a certain degree of discomfort when he enters a library. He felt misery upon realizing that he would not be able to read all of the books that the library contains as his life is finite, and he articulates this in terms of a mathematical sublime in which something with great magnitude is in contrast with itself. De Quincey concerned himself with the printing expansion and book circulations during the first part of the nineteenth century, since this allowed the wide spread of seditious material, and he found the printing industry to represent the various changes and industrialization that would soon shape society. As changes in social class and demography will be experienced, industrial production is found to be a problem of consumer choice. In this chapter, we analyse literary criticisms regarding market problems and how the consumers may be classified as the amateur or general reader, and the critic or professional reader.
Carolyn Hughes Tuohy
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300149838
- eISBN:
- 9780300155952
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300149838.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter uses the Canadian health policy experience to illuminate the conditions under which fundamental or incremental reform takes place. The chapter is organized as follows. The first section ...
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This chapter uses the Canadian health policy experience to illuminate the conditions under which fundamental or incremental reform takes place. The chapter is organized as follows. The first section briefly sets out the theoretical framework for thinking about the dynamics of change in the health care arena. The second reviews the organizational and financial structures of Canadian health care in the 1970–1995 period, and addresses in particular the themes of the 1996 Four Country Conference: managing change, consumer choice, and resource allocation. The third section assesses the system in the mid-2000s and notes what remains constant and what has changed between 1996 and 2008.Less
This chapter uses the Canadian health policy experience to illuminate the conditions under which fundamental or incremental reform takes place. The chapter is organized as follows. The first section briefly sets out the theoretical framework for thinking about the dynamics of change in the health care arena. The second reviews the organizational and financial structures of Canadian health care in the 1970–1995 period, and addresses in particular the themes of the 1996 Four Country Conference: managing change, consumer choice, and resource allocation. The third section assesses the system in the mid-2000s and notes what remains constant and what has changed between 1996 and 2008.
Aaron Perzanowski and Jason Schultz
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262035019
- eISBN:
- 9780262335959
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262035019.003.0004
- Subject:
- Information Science, Library Science
This chapter examines the license agreements imposed by IP rights holders that redefine transactions and strip consumers of ownership even after an apparent sale. Despite their importance, consumers ...
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This chapter examines the license agreements imposed by IP rights holders that redefine transactions and strip consumers of ownership even after an apparent sale. Despite their importance, consumers seldom read these license agreements because of their length and complexity. In response, IP rights holders produce highly uniform license terms that impose restrictions on the rights acquired by consumers. There are two approaches of interpreting license agreements: one treating them as contracts that require the mutual consent to be effective, while the other construing license agreements as expression of permission that does not require agreement to be effective. Many courts rely on license agreements to determine whether consumers enjoy ownership over the things they purchase. The better approach, however, should be to look at the economic reality of a transaction.Less
This chapter examines the license agreements imposed by IP rights holders that redefine transactions and strip consumers of ownership even after an apparent sale. Despite their importance, consumers seldom read these license agreements because of their length and complexity. In response, IP rights holders produce highly uniform license terms that impose restrictions on the rights acquired by consumers. There are two approaches of interpreting license agreements: one treating them as contracts that require the mutual consent to be effective, while the other construing license agreements as expression of permission that does not require agreement to be effective. Many courts rely on license agreements to determine whether consumers enjoy ownership over the things they purchase. The better approach, however, should be to look at the economic reality of a transaction.
Lisa Kemmerer
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199790678
- eISBN:
- 9780199919178
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199790678.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The introduction provides focus and intent for the book: focusing on core religious teachings that explain how human beings ought to behave in relation to other animals—teachings that shed light on ...
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The introduction provides focus and intent for the book: focusing on core religious teachings that explain how human beings ought to behave in relation to other animals—teachings that shed light on animal welfare, animal rights, and animal liberation—with the intent that this information be considered in light of contemporary practices and consumer choices. The introduction closes with an explanation of language and social justice activism, introducing the term “anymal.”Less
The introduction provides focus and intent for the book: focusing on core religious teachings that explain how human beings ought to behave in relation to other animals—teachings that shed light on animal welfare, animal rights, and animal liberation—with the intent that this information be considered in light of contemporary practices and consumer choices. The introduction closes with an explanation of language and social justice activism, introducing the term “anymal.”
A. J. Nicholls
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198208525
- eISBN:
- 9780191678059
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208525.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter takes an account of the efforts to establish neo-liberalism in post-war Germany. Businessmen set up a branch of the old German Democratic Party in Munster and contacted Miiller-Armack to ...
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This chapter takes an account of the efforts to establish neo-liberalism in post-war Germany. Businessmen set up a branch of the old German Democratic Party in Munster and contacted Miiller-Armack to discuss efforts needed to stabilize the currency crisis. He stressed that without a free-price mechanism it was impossible to make rational decisions about the allocation of resources. Müller-Armack developed his concept of the social market economy and in May 1948, he presented a blueprint, outlining its objectives and the means by which it could be achieved. The collapsing system of government controls needed to be replaced by the free market. Consumer choice would have the power to establish real prices and encourage production. Social security should be achieved and workers needed to be given ‘social right to participate’ in the organization of their work (ein soziales Mitgestaltungsrecht), without, reducing managerial initiative and the responsibility of the employer. Monopolies needed to be resisted to prevent the abuse of economic power. The Wangeroog programme emphasized preventing the abuse of property and opposing monopolies, but specifically provided for market-regulation agreements, and claimed that a general ban on such agreements was ‘untenable for economic reasons’.Less
This chapter takes an account of the efforts to establish neo-liberalism in post-war Germany. Businessmen set up a branch of the old German Democratic Party in Munster and contacted Miiller-Armack to discuss efforts needed to stabilize the currency crisis. He stressed that without a free-price mechanism it was impossible to make rational decisions about the allocation of resources. Müller-Armack developed his concept of the social market economy and in May 1948, he presented a blueprint, outlining its objectives and the means by which it could be achieved. The collapsing system of government controls needed to be replaced by the free market. Consumer choice would have the power to establish real prices and encourage production. Social security should be achieved and workers needed to be given ‘social right to participate’ in the organization of their work (ein soziales Mitgestaltungsrecht), without, reducing managerial initiative and the responsibility of the employer. Monopolies needed to be resisted to prevent the abuse of economic power. The Wangeroog programme emphasized preventing the abuse of property and opposing monopolies, but specifically provided for market-regulation agreements, and claimed that a general ban on such agreements was ‘untenable for economic reasons’.
Ingo Bode
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847420763
- eISBN:
- 9781447303473
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847420763.003.0011
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Research and Statistics
This chapter explores the nature and substance of social citizenship in Britain and Germany. It focuses on unemployment protection, retirement provision, and health care entitlements. The chapter ...
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This chapter explores the nature and substance of social citizenship in Britain and Germany. It focuses on unemployment protection, retirement provision, and health care entitlements. The chapter begins by arguing that the concept of social citizenship established by T.H. Marshall in the 1950s, and to varying degrees fostered through the welfare states of Western Europe, has been undermined, curtailed and replaced by strategies of activation, self-government and consumer choice. However, this chapter suggests that this is not a unilinear process and argues that while there is a clear evidence for the emergence of a fragmented configuration of citizenship with the marketisation of citizenship in some policy areas, one can also identify a re-emphasis on universalism.Less
This chapter explores the nature and substance of social citizenship in Britain and Germany. It focuses on unemployment protection, retirement provision, and health care entitlements. The chapter begins by arguing that the concept of social citizenship established by T.H. Marshall in the 1950s, and to varying degrees fostered through the welfare states of Western Europe, has been undermined, curtailed and replaced by strategies of activation, self-government and consumer choice. However, this chapter suggests that this is not a unilinear process and argues that while there is a clear evidence for the emergence of a fragmented configuration of citizenship with the marketisation of citizenship in some policy areas, one can also identify a re-emphasis on universalism.
Jana Marguerite Bennett
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- August 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190462628
- eISBN:
- 9780190462659
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190462628.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Being never-married is culturally presented as a choice a person makes—especially a consumer-driven choice—in which one chooses to be married, or not. One result is that people (especially women) and ...
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Being never-married is culturally presented as a choice a person makes—especially a consumer-driven choice—in which one chooses to be married, or not. One result is that people (especially women) and sexual relationships become objects for consumption, driven by desire. Sexual desire becomes a consumer desire that can be gotten at will, like a product in a store. Consumer desire in turn shows up in the descriptions people have about wanting to get married. At the same time, remaining unmarried continues to be seen as a mistaken consumer “choice,” especially among Christians. The Apostle Paul, a never-married man, offers new possibilities for thinking about choices. His focus is not on whether to remain single or get married, but rather to choose to engage each relationship (whether romantic or not) with the care and love it deserves.Less
Being never-married is culturally presented as a choice a person makes—especially a consumer-driven choice—in which one chooses to be married, or not. One result is that people (especially women) and sexual relationships become objects for consumption, driven by desire. Sexual desire becomes a consumer desire that can be gotten at will, like a product in a store. Consumer desire in turn shows up in the descriptions people have about wanting to get married. At the same time, remaining unmarried continues to be seen as a mistaken consumer “choice,” especially among Christians. The Apostle Paul, a never-married man, offers new possibilities for thinking about choices. His focus is not on whether to remain single or get married, but rather to choose to engage each relationship (whether romantic or not) with the care and love it deserves.
