Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 1992. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

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<p>Since the reform and opening up in 1978, China’s economy began to grow at a high speed for thirty years. In 2007, the GDP of China was 24952.99 billion RMB, which was the fourth one in the world. However, under these achievement, China’s economy was still face with some problems, such as the different consumption between rural and urban areas.</p>

The traditional Hicks-Allen theory was presented and modified by (1) formulating the consumer's budget constraint with a weak inequality, (2) deriving the Slutsky equation in matrix notation and (3) demonstrating that the income and substitution effects could be derived directly from the partial derivatives of the consumer's demand functions. Two examples of human behavior in the commodity markets were presented, which refute the Hicks-Allen theory. Conceptualizing these examples and similar ones into an economic theory of consumer behavior was the objective of the inquiry. The Hicks-Allen concept of the consumer's utility function was modified by including a set of variables to represent the state of the consumer's environment, These variables were then constrained to imposed levels which were assumed beyond detectable influence by the individual consumer. The traditional problems of (1) determining the consumer's optimal budget, (2) determining the rates at which the consumer adjusts his purchases in response to the determinants of his demands, (3) classifying commodities and inter-commodity relationships, were re-examined. The results were: (1) The consumer's demand functions contain a set of variables representing the imposed state of his environment, (2) The consumer's rates of adjusting his optimal purchases contain additional influences in response to changes in the imposed state of his environment, and (3) An economic classification was proposed for the components of the consumer's environment. To demonstrate the proposed modification a numerical example was given depicting a consumer choosing his optimal budget in a two commodity market contained in a one dimensional environment. The proposed modification was subjected to critical scrutiny and its testability was discussed. Two classes of problems, (a) relating the individual's decisions of how much or how he will utilize any portion of his environment, and (b) determining any economic value for the environment, are not rendered intelligible or comprehensible with the proposed modification. Two classes of problems for further inquiry were suggested, (a) metaphysical problems of demarcating an individual's consumption and his use of an item from his environment, and (b) reformulating the theory of production and the theory of equilibrium price determination along the same lines as the proposed modification. The proposed modification of the Hicks-Allen theory and the method used to analyze the effects of this modification represent the contributions made by this inquiry. / Graduation date: 1970

A social practices theoretical framework and mixed methodology are used to explore household sustainable daily practices in Edmonton, AB. Sustainable daily practices involve those actions undertaken by households to minimize their impact on the environment (e.g., cycling to avoid driving). Because social practice theory considers the reciprocity between agency and structure in establishing habitual routines, this perspective allows for the integration of competing theoretical explanations in the study of sustainable consumption (i.e., treadmill theory and consumer lock-in). Qualitative interviews are used to shed light on how peer-to-peer learning within a network of ecological citizens sustains individuals commitment to reducing consumption. Acting as a group is part of reclaiming consumption, as is the attempt to alter local social context to lessen barriers for others to live more sustainably. Barriers include built infrastructure and social norms. Members of the network described in the qualitative phase reside in a central neighbourhood. Unlike suburban neighbourhoods, the central area is within cycling distance of the downtown and university areas, has walking access to shops and services, and is adjacent to a large natural area with multi-use trails. In this central neighbourhood, residents interviewed meet frequently and informally with other households in the area also interested in sustainable living. In contrast, households interviewed in suburban areas describe a sense of isolation from like-minded others and a paucity of neighbours who inspire them to deepen their commitment to the environment (i.e., through positive reinforcement or knowledge-sharing). To further understand the influence of neighbourhood as a structural feature on daily practices, a survey instrument is used to compare a central urban and a suburban neighbourhood. The quantitative data are used in a cluster analysis resulting in four subgroups of households. The clusters do not differ greatly on socio-demographic variables, but are strongly differentiated by neighbourhood of residence. Thus the thesis concludes that reclaiming consumption, or reducing ones consumption in concert with others, is more easily achieved in an area with public meeting points, the presence of other households committed to reducing consumption, and the opportunity to conspicuously display ones daily practices around sustainable consumption. / Rural Sociology

Since the reform and opening up in 1978, China’s economy began to grow at a high speed for thirty years. In 2007, the GDP of China was 24952.99 billion RMB, which was the fourth one in the world. However, under these achievement, China’s economy was still face with some problems, such as the different consumption between rural and urban areas.