65-87

• Memushi, Armando

Developing post-communist countries may have relatively higher levels of conspicuous consumption, because of extreme inequalities in income, relatively stronger social relationships and traditions and the urge to show off of the nouveaux riches, previously condemned. In spite of this, there is a lack of research concerning this behaviour in Albania. This paper briefly discusses one aspect of the phenomenon, the influencing factors, drawing upon relevant analyses from different viewpoints. The impact that these “global” or “local” factors (gender, age, education, social environment, etc.) have on the level of conspicuous consumption of an Albanian household is analyzed, using data from the 2008 Albanian Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS 2008). Among the considered factors, gender and education seem to have the greater impact.

• Economics and Business
• Computer and information sciences

• Economic development
• Income
• Statistics

Albania, conspicuous consumption, household expenditures, LSMS 2008

Περιέχει παραρτήματα και βιβλιογραφία, JEL Classification: D03, D12, Z13

1. Amaldoss, W. and Jain, S. (2005a): “Conspicuous Consumption and SophisticatedThinking”, Management Science, 51(10), 1449-1466.Amaldoss, W. and Jain, S. (2005b): “Pricing Of Conspicuous Goods: A CompetitiveAnalysis of Social Effects”, Journal of Marketing Research, 42(1), 30-42.Anderson, S. (2003): “Why Dowry Payments Declined With Modernization In EuropeBut Are Rising In India”, Journal of Political Economy, 111(2), 269-310.Bagwell, L. S. and Bernheim, B. D. (1996): “Veblen Effects in a Theory of ConspicuousConsumption”, The American Economic Review, 86(3), 349-473.Basmann, R. L., Molina, D. J. and Slottje, D. J. (1988): “A Note on Measuring Veblen’sTheory of Conspicuous Consumption”, The Review of Economics and Statistics,70(3), 531-535.Bekir, I., El Harbi, S. and Grolleau, G. (2011): “(Deceptive) Status Seeking Strategies inFrance and Tunisia’, Journal of Economic Issues, 45(3), 717-732.Belk, R. W. (1988): “Possessions and the Extended Self”, Journal of Consumer Research,15(2), 139-168.Belk, R. W. (1988): “Third World Consumer Culture”, in Kumku, E. and Firat A.F. (Eds.), Marketing and Development: Towards Broader Dimensions, Greenwich:JAI Press, 103-127.Bonsu, S. K. and Belk, R. W. (2003): “Do Not Go Cheaply into That Good Night:Death-Ritual Consumption in Asante, Ghana”, Journal of Consumer Research, 30(1), 41-55. Campbell, C. (1995): “Conspicuous Confusion? A Critique of Veblen’s Theory of ConspicuousConsumption”, Sociological Theory, 13(1), 37-47.Case, A., Garrib, A., Menendez, A., and Olgiati, A. (2013): “Paying the Piper: The HighCost Of Funerals in South Africa”, Economic Development and Cultural Change,62(1), 1-20.Chao, A. and Schor, J. B. (1998): “Empirical Tests of Status Consumption: Evidencefrom Women's Cosmetics”, Journal of Economic Psychology, 19(1), 107-131.Charles, K. K., Hurst, E. and Roussanov N. (2009): “Conspicuous Consumption andRace”, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 124(2), 425-467.Chaudhuri, H. R. and Majumdar S. (2006): “Of Diamonds and Desires: UnderstandingConspicuous Consumption from a Contemporary Marketing Perspective”, Academyof Marketing Science, 2006(11), 1-18.De Fraja, G. (2009): “The Origin of Utility: Sexual Selection and Conspicuous Consumption”,Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 72(1), 51-69.Eastman, J. K., Fredenberger, B., Campbell, D. and Calvert, S. (1997): “The Relationshipbetween Status Consumption and Materialism: A Cross-Cultural Comparison ofChinese, Mexican, and American Students”, Journal of Marketing Theory andPractice, 5(1), 52-66.Frank, R. (1985): “The Demand for Unobservables and Other Nonpositional Goods”,American Economic Review, 75(1), 101-116.Friehe, T. and Mechtel, M. (2012): “Conspicuous Consumption and Communism: Evidencefrom East and West Germany”, CESifo Working Paper Series No. 3922, URL:http://ssrn.com/abstract=2144175, accessed on 02.03.2014.Grant, I. (2004): “Communicating With Young People through the Eyes of MarketingPractitioners”, Journal of Marketing Management, 20(5-6), 591-606.Grubb, E. L. and Grathwohl, H. L. (1967): “Consumer Self-Concept, Symbolism andMarket Behavior: A Theoretical Approach”, Journal of Marketing, 31(4) Part 1, 2227.Hana, L. and Telo, I. (2005): Tranzicioni në Shqipëri: Arritje dhe Sfida, Tirana: Academyof Sciences of Albania, 243-259.Janssens, K., Pandelaere, M., Van den Bergh, B., Millet, K., Lens, I. and Roe, K.(2011): “Can Buy Me Love: Mate Attraction Goals Lead to Perceptual Readiness forStatus Products”, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47(1), 254-258.Kaus, W. (2013): “Conspicuous Consumption and Race: Evidence from South Africa”,Journal of Development Economics, 100(1), 63-73.Krähmer, D. (2005): Advertising and Conspicuous Consumption, URL:http://www.sfbtr15.de/dipa/72.pdf, accessed on 07.05.2013.Linssen, R., Van Kempen, L. and Kraaykamp, G. (2011): “Subjective Well-being inRural India: The Curse of Conspicuous Consumption”, Social Indicators Research,101(1), 57-72.Mason, R. (1981): Conspicuous Consumption: A Study of Exceptional Consumer Behaviour,New York: St. Martin’s Press.Memushi, A. (2013): “Conspicuous Consumption of Luxury Goods: Literature Reviewof Theoretical and Empirical Evidences”, International Journal of Scientificand Engineering Research, 4(12), 250-255.Memushi, A. and Kokaveshi E. (2011): “Globalization and the Albanian Economy –Foreign Trade and FDIs, 2001-2010”, in Stringa, O. (Ed.), Economic & Social Challenges2011-At the Time of Global Crisis and Integration, Tirana: Europrint, 12-18.Meyers-Levy, J. (1988): “The Influence of Sex Roles on Judgment”, Journal of ConsumerResearch, 14(4), 522-530.Moschis, G. P. and Churchill, G. A. J. (1979): “An Analysis of the Adolescent Consumer”,Journal of Marketing, 43(3), 40-48.Özpinar, Ş., Aldemir, N. C. and Özpinar, Ö. (2010): “Consumption Perception in Turkeywithin the Context of Globalisation”, in Rethinking Global Society: The BaumanInstitute International Launch Conference, URL: http://baumaninstitute.leeds.ac.uk/conference/conference-papers/ozpinar-aldemir-ozpinar/, accessed on 11.03.2014.Page, C. (1992): “A History of Conspicuous Consumption”, in Rudmin, F. and Richins,M. (Eds.): Meaning, Measure, and Morality of Materialism, Provo: Association forConsumer Research, 82-87.Patsiaouras, G. (2010): Rethinking Veblen’s Contribution to Consumer Research: APhenomenological Enquiry into the Perception of ‘Status Consumption’ By MiddleIncomeBritish Consumers, URL: https://lra.le.ac.uk/handle/2381/8760, accessed on11.07.2013.Patsiaouras, G. and Fitchett, J. A. (2012): “The Evolution of Conspicuous Consumption”,Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 4 (1), 154-176.Petre, R. (2010): “The “Market effect” on the 1990 Romanian Emigration Generation:the Genealogy of a Misunderstanding”, Ethnologia Balkanica, 14, 293-304.Pollet, T. & Thienpont, K. (2004): Sexual Selection as a Mechanism for ConspicuousConsumption, URL:http://www.students.ncl.ac.uk/t.v.pollet/ISHE2004ThomasPolletKrisThienpont.pdf,accessed on 10.07.2013.Pop-Eleches, G. (2009): Economic Reference Group Salience in Post-CommunistEastern Europe: Causes and Consequences, URL: https://www.princeton.edu/~gpop/PC%20ref%20groups%20GPE%20Dec09.pdf, accessed on 11.03.2014.Prakash, V. (1992): “Sex Roles And Advertising Preferences”, Journal of AdvertisingResearch, 32(3), 43-52.Sajeesh, S. (2010): “Cost Leadership And Pricing In Conspicuous Goods Markets”,Economics Bulletin, 30(4), 3348–3354.Scheetz, T. (2004): “A Modern Investigation of Status Consumption”, URL: http://www.case.edu/artsci/dean/elf/presentationsreports.html, accessed on 11.07.2013.Shukla, P. (2008): “Conspicuous Consumption among Middle Age Consumers: Psychologicaland Brand Antecedents”, Journal of Product & Brand Management, 17(1),25-36.Sims-Muhammad, T. Y. (2012): “Young Adult Perception and Attitude towardConspicuous Consumption and Poverty”, Journal of Social Sciences, 8(4), 512-518.Souiden, N., M’Saad, B. and Pons, F. (2011): “A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Consumers’Conspicuous Consumption of Branded Fashion Accessories”, Journal ofInternational Consumer Marketing, 23(5), 329-343.Spero, I. and Stone, M. (2004): “Agents Of Change: How Young Consumers AreChanging The World Of Marketing”, Qualitative Market Research: An InternationalJournal, 7(2), 153-159.Sundie, J. M., Kenrick, D. T., Griskevicius, V., Tybur, J. M., Vohs, K. D. and Beal, D.J. (2011): “Peacocks, Porsches, and Thorstein Veblen: Conspicuous Consumption asa Sexual Signaling System”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(4),664-680.Tereyağoğlu, N. and Veeraraghavan, S. (2012): “Selling to Conspicuous Consumers:Pricing, Production, and Sourcing Decisions”, Management Science, 58(12), 21682189.The World Bank (2006): Albania Living Standard Measurement Survey 2005 - BasicInformation Document, URL: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTLSMS/Resources/3358986-1181743055198/3877319-1190309366854/alb05bid.pdf,accessed on 22.06.2013.The World Bank (2014): Albania Overview, URL: http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/albania/overview, accessed on 01.03.2014.Thompson, W. C. (2013): Nordic, Central, and Southeastern Europe 2013, Lanham:Rowman & Littlefield, 349.Trigg, A. B. (2001): “Veblen, Bourdieu and Conspicuous Consumption”, Journal ofEconomic Issues, 35(1), 99-115.Tse, D. K., Belk, R. W. and Zhou, N. (1989): “Becoming a Consumer Society: A Longitudinaland Cross-cultural Content Analysis of Print Ads from Hong Kong, thePeople's Republic of China, and Taiwan”, Journal of Consumer Research, 15(4), 457472.Underhill, L. and Cadwell, F. (1983): “What Age Do You Feel? Age Perception Study”,Journal of Consumer Marketing, 1(1), 18-27.Van Kempen, L. (2004): “Are The Poor Willing To Pay A Premium On Designer Labels?A Field Experiment in Bolivia”, Oxford Development Studies, 32(2), 205-224.Veblen, T. (1899): The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions,New York: Random House.Vikander, N. (2007), Conspicuous Consumption and the Strength of Social Ties, URL:http://www.tinbergen.nl/~vikander/conspicuousconsumption.pdf, accessed on05.03.2014Wang, Y. and Griskevicius, V. (2013): “Conspicuous Consumption, Relationships, andRivals: Women’s Luxury Products as Signals to Other Women”, Journal of ConsumerResearch, 40(5), 834-854.Yoon, J. and Seok, H. (1996): “Conspicuous Consumption and Social Status in Korea:An Assessment of Reciprocal Effects”, Korea Journal of Population and Development,25(2), 333-354.