How Attitudes Regarding Consumer Indebtedness and Durable GoodsAffected Household Expenditure, 1920-1937 Público

Abstract

This paper outlines attitudes regarding luxury durable goods and instruments of consumer

debt during the early 20th century. I illustrate how these opinions altered the way in which

consumers purchased durable goods and acquired debt, most notably via their use of the

installment plan. Radical modifications in the way public figures viewed the influence that

these behaviors had on economic prosperity and the quality of society occurred

simultaneous to statistically significant shifts in the way a household's indebtedness

altered its expenditure on durable goods.

Table of Contents

Section I - Introduction1

Section II - The Pre-1920s Portrayal of Envy and Thrift3

Section III - TheShift in Availability and Attitudes and the Subsequent Debate 6

Section IV - The Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Resulting Blame and Confusion 18

Section V - The Great Contraction and a Reversion Back to Pre-Depression Patterns 22

Section VI - Data Description and Empirical Models27

Section VII - Empirical Results33

Section VIII - Implications37

Section IX - Appendix39

List of Tables

Table 1 - Consumer Indebtedness, 1921-19379

Table 2 - Analysis of Consumer Durable Expenditure, 1921 - 193935

Table A.1 - Changes in Debt and Changes Expenditure in Three Periods39

List of Figures

Figure 1 - Debt as a Percentage of Income, 1921-19377

Figure 2 - Gross Expenditure on Durables, 1921-19378

Figure 3 - Debt and Expenditure, 1921-193720

Figure 4 - Changes in Debt and Expenditure, 1922-193721

Figure 5 - Gross Domestic Product, 1929-193523

Figure 6 - Unemployment Rate,1929-193523

Figure A.1 - Roosevelt High School Thrift Creed, 192539

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Economics
Degree	BA
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Economics, General Economics, Commerce-Business Economics, History
Palavra-chave	Installment Plan Durable Goods
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Zha, Tao, Emory University
Committee Members	Carlson, Leonard A, Emory University Shapiro, William, Emory University

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