Devising Consumption: Cultural Economies of Insurance, Credit and Spending

Liz McFall*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Book/ReportBook

Abstract

The book explores the vital role played by the financial service industries in enabling the poor to consume over the last hundred and fifty years. Spending requires means, but these industries offered something else as well – they offered practical marketing devices that captured, captivated and enticed poor consumers. Consumption and consumer markets depend on such devices but their role has been poorly understood both in the social sciences and in business studies and marketing.

While the analysis of consumption and markets has been carved up between academics and practitioners who have been interested in either their social and cultural life or their economic and commercial organisation, consumption continues to be driven by their combination. Devising consumption requires practical mixtures of commerce and art whether the product is an insurance policy or the next gadget in the internet of things . By making the case for a pragmatic understanding of how ordinary, everyday consumption is orchestrated, the book offers an alternative to orthodox approaches, which should appeal to interdisciplinary audiences interested in questions about how markets work and why it matters.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationAbingdon
PublisherRoutledge
Number of pages212
Edition1
ISBN (Electronic)9780203147870
ISBN (Print)9780415694391, 9781138645356
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Sept 2014

Publication series

NameCRESC: Culture, Economy and the Social
PublisherRoutledge

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