Consumption

Consumption is the principal feature of Iran€™s Gross National Production. Therefore, recognizing of factors that influence it is quite crucial. This article, investigates habit formation, durability, relative risk aversion and intertemporal substitution in consumption expenditures of Iranian households. For empirical study, at first, we constructed two weighted portfolio of the main assets return that households hold them. Then, by using generalized method of moments, we examined some models with the mentioned factors in pattern of households€™ consumption for 1979-2012 periods. Our Empirical findings indicated that for durable goods, the effect of habit persistence dominated the effect of durability in consumption expenditures and for semi durable goods vice versa. Also, for semi-durable and durable goods the effect of durability dominated the effect of habit formation. Furthermore, the results indicate that coefficients of relative risk aversion and elasticity of intertemporal substitution are between 0.25 to 0.95 and 1.05 to 4, respectively.    JEL Classification: C26, D91, G11

The present paper seeks to argue that consumption and media wield an unparalleled influence over contemporary American society, in a way that these drives constitute the primary means through which identity is constituted. Closely referring to Jean Baudrillard’s critical concepts, the present research contends that the fictional characters of Bret Easton Ellis, particularly in Less Than Zero, are prone to this postmodern world, where all experience via consumption has become fathomless, and traditional notions of identity have been changed. Ellis’s characters oscillate between the extreme poles of violence and ennui as they do their best to prevent their psyches from collapse amidst the surrounding turmoil caused by excessive consumption. Neither one of these alternatives results in any relief. In this type of literature, the protagonists are immersed in the contemporary world of consumption and the mass media. The primary interest here is on the effects of this immersion in the world of commodities on the major characters (Clay and Blair), and their reactions in the selected novel. Accordingly, dependence on possessions by the characters of the novel in order to isolate themselves from the threatening disorder of the post-modern world is the major concern of present study of the novel.

Nowadays, huge tendency to fashion and consumerism could be assumed as the origin of identity crisis among women and in their houses. This phenomenon is like a veil between man and the fact of his human being. Given that the physical properties of man-made environments (house) are influenced by human properties and, in return, have an important role in giving identity to their audience, identification of different dimensions of these properties can be useful in the creation of physical environment with the goal of overwhelming such a crisis. In this study, the roots and effects of the tendency toward fashion and consumerism were explored. It is believed that modernism and materialism are the main causes for the current crisis. At the second stage, to understand the nature of relationship between humans and their environments, theories from semiotics, phenomenology, and semantics were studied. After reviewing many sources, it was found out that self awareness is the only way to promote women and their houses’ identities. Finally, using a logical reasoning method, among all reviewed approaches, Endogenous Development Model was confirmed as the best approach to getting out of the kind of crisis explained above. According to the findings, this approach can pave the ground for inhabitants’ growth in addition to creating valuable places with their unique identity.

Purpose: The present study aimed to design, implement and evaluate a learning situation to achieve the goals of economic education in the third grade of elementary school.  Methodology: This research is applied in terms of purpose and is a quasi-experimental research in terms of method. The research design of this study is a pre-test/post-test design with a control group. The sample of this study were 50 third grade female students of Dr. Hesabi School in District 20 of Rey city who were divided into control and experimental groups. In order to collect data, a researcher-made checklist was used. The validity of the questionnaire was content-face validity and was confirmed by educational planning experts. The reliability of the questionnaire was calculated based on Cronbach's alpha value and was more than 70% and was confirmed. For data analysis, mean and standard deviation indices as well as Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, covariance and SPSS software version 20 were used. Findings: Findings showed that there is a significant difference between students' perceptions of the concepts of economic education in the experimental group and the control group in the pre-test and post-test stages and the designed learning situation has been able to influence third grade students' understanding of the economic concepts of benefit, cost, and consumption. The results show that the average benefit variable in the experimental group post-test was 4.80, the average cost variable in the experimental group post-test was 5.20 and the average consumption variable in the post-test of the experimental group was 9.64.  Conclusion: According to the results, it can be said that the learning situation designed to convey the concept of consumption has been more successful than the other two concepts. This is rooted in the lack of sufficient economic resources appropriate to the student's age group (especially the issue of benefit).

The emergence of celebrities dates back to the mid-19th century, with some scholars tracing their origins to even earlier periods. However, it was the commercialization of the Internet in the 1990s, and more significantly, the rise of the social media industry in the mid-2010s that gave birth to what is now commonly referred to as the "celebrity industry." This industry has experienced a continuous upward trajectory ever since. While individuals with a discerning outlook may perceive celebrities, especially microcelebrities, as superficial and lacking in merit for societal attention, it is essential to recognize their pivotal role in reshaping global economic dynamics. This paper aims to elucidate the undeniable influence of celebrities, particularly microcelebrities, in stimulating ordinary individuals to allocate their hard-earned resources toward non-essential expenditures. Indeed, as the concept of 'consumption' itself has evolved into a potent driving force, celebrities' impact transcends economic domains, extending into the realms of society, personal life, culture, and even politics. This paper endeavors to elucidate the multifaceted consequences of this phenomenon.