Consumer economy

A consumer economy describes an economy driven by consumer spending as a percent of its gross domestic product, as opposed to the other major components of GDP (gross private domestic investment, government spending, and imports netted against exports).

In the U.S., it is usually said by economists, including in Henry Hazlitt's "Economics in One Lesson" that 70% of spending is consumer-based, but this number is disputed by economists like Businessweek columnist Michael Mandel,. Consumer spending in the US rose from about 62% of GDP in 1960, where it stayed until about 1981, and has since risen to 71% in 2013.

Historical

England gained a consumer economy in the late 18th century.They had many exotic items and it created an environment for a pleasurable, rather than mundane, and desire-based mode of shopping. The US consumer economy in the 1920s included many leisure items and products that improved housework. They introduced advertising to sell goods and lines of credit.

Modern

Many countries have a consumer economy.

According to Kevin O'Marah of Forbes magazine, Africa's consumer economies remained "buoyant" despite the worldwide collapse in the commodity industry, despite the fact that commodity extraction industries have long dominated the region.

Some analysts, including an anonymous columnist at The Economist stated in 2014 and early 2015 that China was likely to become a consumer economy.

See also

• Consumerism
• Economic growth
• Service economy