The thesis analyzes the validity of consumer's surplus as a measure of welfare change. The analysis begins by examining the chronological development of the concept. Once an understanding of consumer's surplus is formulated, an evaluation of its use in modern ad hoc problems can be undertaken. Chapter II and III discuss the development of consumer's surplus from Classical economics to its modern reformulations, The concept's application to different problems is discussed in Chapter IV. Chapter V and VI deal with the intergration of consumer's surplus and the compensation principle. The primary conclusion is that the Laspeyres measure, in combination with the compensation test, provides a definitive measure of welfare change in a limited situation.

by Lee Man-Ho, Peter. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-125). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter Chapter 1. --- The Literature Review --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 2. --- "Revealed Preference, Differentiable Demand, and Expenditure Function" --- p.9 / Chapter I. --- Introduction --- p.9 / Chapter II. --- Results --- p.12 / Chapter III. --- Proof of Proposition 1 --- p.30 / Chapter IV. --- Proof of Proposition 2 --- p.53 / Appendix --- p.64 / Chapter Chapter 3. --- Revealed Smooth and Homothetic Preferences --- p.67 / Chapter I. --- Introduction --- p.67 / Chapter II. --- Result --- p.68 / Chapter Chapter 4. --- Excess Demand and Homothetic Economy --- p.77 / Chapter I. --- Introduction --- p.77 / Chapter II. --- Results --- p.79 / Chapter III. --- Proofs --- p.84 / Chapter Chapter 5. --- Conclusion --- p.95 / Appendix. Validating SARP by Computer Programs --- p.98 / References --- p.119

Lee Man Fai. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 34-37). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgement --- p.iii / Table of Contents --- p.iv / List of Propositions --- p.v / List of Appendices --- p.vi / Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 2. --- Literature Review --- p.3 / Chapter 3. --- Money-in-the-Utility Function Models --- p.9 / Chapter 3.1 --- Simple Sidrauski Model --- p.11 / Chapter 3.2 --- Augmented Sidrauski Model --- p.12 / Chapter 4. --- Cash-in-Advance Models --- p.14 / Chapter 4.1 --- Separable Utility Functions --- p.15 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- The Clower-Lucas CIA Model --- p.15 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- The Stockman CIA Model --- p.17 / Chapter 4.2 --- Non-Separable Utility Functions --- p.20 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- The Clower-Lucas CIA Model --- p.21 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- The Stockman CIA Model --- p.22 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Special Case --- p.24 / Chapter 5. --- Conclusion --- p.27 / Chapter 6. --- Appendices --- p.29 / Chapter 7. --- References --- p.34

Au Chun Chung. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-85). / List of Figures --- p.iii / List of Symbols and Abbreviations --- p.iv / Chapter Chapter I --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Characteristics of the Monopolistic Durable Market --- p.4 / Chapter 1.2 --- Technological Improvement in Production --- p.6 / Chapter 1.3 --- Expectation and Commitment Power --- p.7 / Chapter 1.4 --- The Second-Hand Market of Durable Goods --- p.9 / Chapter 1.5 --- Trade-In --- p.11 / Chapter 1.6 --- Valuation vs. Willingness-to-Pay --- p.12 / Chapter Chapter II --- An Overview of the Literature --- p.15 / Chapter 2.1 --- Coase Conjecture --- p.15 / Chapter 2.2 --- Dynamic Pricing and Sales Strategy --- p.16 / Chapter 2.3 --- Durability and Planned Obsolescence --- p.19 / Chapter 2.4 --- Models of Second-Hand Market --- p.21 / Chapter 2.5 --- Other Papers of Interest --- p.23 / Chapter Chapter III --- The Models --- p.25 / Chapter 3.1 --- Basic Setup and the General Method --- p.25 / Chapter 3.2 --- "Model 1 - The Basic Model (M,C and NC)" --- p.29 / Chapter 3.3 --- Model 2 - A Model with Second-Hand Market (S) --- p.45 / Chapter 3.4 --- Model 3 - A Model with Trade-In (T) --- p.62 / Chapter Chapter IV --- Conclusions --- p.81 / Chapter 4.1 --- Conclusions --- p.81 / Chapter 4.2 --- Further Research Directions --- p.82 / References --- p.84

Wong, Ching Chuen. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 45-46). / Abstract also in Chinese. / Spatial Competition in Two-Dimensional Product Space --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- First model: Ordinal characteristics --- p.5 / Chapter 1.3 --- Second model: Categorical characteristics --- p.14 / Chapter 1.4 --- Conclusion --- p.18 / Spatial Competition with Demand Uncertainty --- p.21 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.21 / Chapter 2.2 --- Model --- p.26 / Chapter 2.3 --- Revelation of market density before transportation --- p.29 / Chapter 2.4 --- Revelation of market density after transportation --- p.36 / Chapter 2.5 --- Perfectly informed consumers --- p.38 / Chapter 2.6 --- Application: Negative externality --- p.40 / Chapter 2.7 --- Conclusion --- p.42 / References --- p.45

This is an in-depth study of the structural change and transition of the Chinese consumer goods market from 1954 to 1991 using disequilibrium econometric methodology. The model for the Chinese consumer goods market is based on the Portes-Winter disequilibrium model for centrally planned economies (1980). The demand function is derived from the Houthakker-Taylor savings function. The supply function is composed of approximations to the government's long-term and short-term plans. The transaction quantity in the market is defined as the smaller of effective demand and supply. Using the traditional global fitting method, three models are evaluated: one model that assumes no structural change, and two models that assume structural change. The estimations show that the structures of the demand and supply functions of the Chinese consumer goods market have changed since the economic reform in 1980. An innovative non-parametric method of locally weighted optimization is applied to further test the variations in model parameters during the period between 1954 and 1991 without assuming explicit functional forms of demand and supply. The estimation results show that the Chinese consumer goods market fits the Portes-Winter model well in the earlier years. The results confirm that the structures of demand and supply functions have changed since the economic reform. In the late 1980's, the Chinese consumer goods market is shown to have shifted away from a pure centrally planned system. Other main conclusions of this study include, first, that chronic shortage does not exist in the Chinese consumer goods market from 1954 to 1991. Second, a rigid price level has not caused the market to be persistently in disequilibrium. Third, the classical disequilibrium model of consumer goods market in centrally planned economies does not fit the Chinese consumer goods market in the later years.

There appears to be a growing recognition among economists and other social commentators that people attempt to enhance their relative position (which is commonly described as status) through consumption choices and other behaviour. It has been less common to consider whether attempts to enhance relative position impact on saving behaviour. This thesis makes a number of contributions relating to the impact of relative position on saving behaviour. In this thesis I: - consider why concern for relative position may impact on saving behaviour. I demonstrate, with a simple intertemporal model the surprising result that when people are concerned with relative position, income risk can lead to most people saving less and the rich saving more. - conduct an empirical study to test the importance of relative position on saving behaviour. I find a statistically and economically significant relationship between peer income and saving behaviour consistent with theories that people actively forgo saving to seek to enhance their relative position. I use the data to demonstrate that relative position can help to explain why prior research has consistently found that the rich have higher saving rates. - consider the policy implications of relative position to saving behaviour. I examine the policies, primarily corrective taxation, that have been advocated to address externalities of relative position in a static setting. I find that there are significant issues when these policies are considered in an intertemporal setting. I examine the policy of mandatory saving in addressing distortions caused by relative position and the possibility that concern for relative position improves the effectiveness of mandatory saving policy.

Consumers tell stories every day: stories about the products they buy, the experiences they consume, even their friends� and families� consumption experiences - in fact, stories about most aspects of their lives. People live �storied� lives. Consumption experiences are understood and related to others through stories (2003). These stories are loaded with personal, social and cultural meaning that varies significantly dependent upon the intended audience and effect (Bruner 1987) Stories are everywhere and understanding these narratives in relation to consumer experience is a challenge that consumer research must embrace (Stern 1998b). The study of such narratives must address issues such as the content of the story, how it is told, who is actually doing the telling and for what purpose. All these stories exist in context. These contexts are not a means in themselves; rather, they are a means to understand a particular aspect of a consumer phenomenon. In this case, the research presented in this thesis seeks to understand the purpose and function of consumers� narratives about commercial adventure experiences. Hence the context of this research is commercial adventure experiences consumed in Queenstown, New Zealand, billed in promotional tourist literature as �the adventure capital of the world� (Smitz et al. 2004). This specific focus on commercial adventure therefore defines the sample group as consumers of commercial adventure experiences in Queenstown. Hence, the scope of this research is limited to understanding the phenomenon under investigation (consumer narratives) in relation to members of Generation Y, as they are the primary consumers of commercial adventure experiences in New Zealand. This research adopts an interpretive, inductive approach utilising qualitative tools to frame and develop an evolving research question. The primary data collection has an initial framing of the research question phase and then three main phases utilising a variety of qualitative tools including observation, in-depth interviewing and videography. The research addressed many issues, including the preference of consumers to narrate these adventure consumption experiences to their most valued community, their home community, and how they intended to tell their stories to their home community when removed from that community. Additionally, consumers� perceptions of �cool� were investigated, together with the reactions they anticipated receiving from their audiences. This research investigated �cool� as a more meaningful term than status, used by the members of Generation Y to describe the most desired outcome for the narration of their consumption experiences. Several key themes emerged from this research. They were the use of these consumer experience narratives in the identity-construction process, both collectively and individually, and how this related to the classic hero myth identity construction (Campbell 1972) and how �cool� was acquired by these consumers through their narrations. Implications of the findings are presented for consumer research with specific reference to a model of community formation based on consumption practices and Generation Y as a community sharing a consciousness of kind.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Anthropology Department, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of English