The Impact of Socioeconomic Status and Metropolitan Area Racial Composition on Visible Consumption Among Whites and Racial/Ethnic Minorities

This study examines visible consumption patterns among racial/ethnic minorities and whites in the USA. We use data from the Consumer Expenditure Interview Survey (CEX) and the Current Population Survey to measure consumption behaviors. Expenditure on clothing is used as a measure of visible consumption. Our hypotheses are derived from the visible consumption theoretical framework as posited by Veblen and from status display models. However, contrasting with these theoretical frameworks, our results do not confirm previous findings that African Americans and other minorities have higher levels of expenditures on visible items as compared to whites. Instead, we find income, education and occupation (socioeconomic status) to be more important predictors of visible consumption than race and ethnicity. Further, we find that consumption behaviors are influenced by the proportion of whites in a metropolitan area, which we do relate to race/ethnicity. We pay particular attention to the consumption behaviors of racial minorities in relation to their metropolitan area racial composition. Our results raise interesting questions about the theoretical propositions made regarding differences in visible consumption expenditures among racial/ethnic groups.