Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/32640
Year of Publication: 
2009
Series/Report no.: 
Papers on Economics and Evolution No. 0905
Publisher: 
Max Planck Institute of Economics, Jena
Abstract: 
This paper presents the computational model of consumer behaviour. We consider two sources of product specific consumer skill acquisition, termed here as learning how to consume: learning by consuming and consumer socialization. Consumers utilize these two sources in order to derive higher valuations for products they are consuming. In this framework we discuss the behavior of returns to product promotion relative to the changes in product characteristics, such as quality and user-friendliness, as well as in case of varying intensity of consumer socialization. The main finding is that in case of duopoly the dependence of returns to advertising on product quality is not monotonic as it has been claimed by earlier studies. Additional important finding indicating the importance of the models with interacting agents is that returns to advertising exhibit qualitatively different behavior in case of zero intensity of consumer socialization.
Subjects: 
Consumer skills
learning by consuming
consumer socialization
product promotion
returns to advertising
JEL: 
D11
M37
C63
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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